Crimson and Clover
by Live2Sk8
Summary: Cory Potter was never perfect, but her brother James, the Gryffindor, was. After his death, she left England for good, but now that Voldemort is back, so is she. She'll be fighting her old friends to defeat the man she hates most. Full summary inside!
1. Prologue

**Story Title: Crimson and Clover**

**Chapter Title: Prologue **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, Hogwarts, or anything from the books. I own Cory and any concepts, ideas, people or places that you may not have heard of, unless I say otherwise. The title comes from the song "Crimson and Clover" by Tommy James and the Shondells, though I originally got it from the song "A Praise Chorus" by Jimmy Eat World.**

**Story Summary: **_**Cornelia "Cory" Potter was never the perfect child, no, that was left up to her brother James. Her twin brother, James Potter, who was younger than her by a mere 7 minutes, but was still younger nevertheless, was always better than she was. Always the one who was slightly better at flying, the one with the wicked sense of humor, the one with the good looks, the one who could get away with everything, the **_**Gryffindor. **_**When the hat shouted out that Cory was destined to forever adorn the Slytherin crest on her robes, her life went down the tubes. Her parents still loved her, sure, but James never forgave her. After his death, she moved to America, but now that Voldemort is back, she's been called back to fight. And fight she will. A Slytherin never backs down from battle, no matter which side they're on, and Cory is ready to take on her old friends, while fighting alongside her old enemies. **_

* * *

_"Slytherin 10, Gryffindor 0." A booming voice filled the stands, though cheers and 'boos' quickly overtook it. The stadium was jam-packed, and colored blurs were zooming through the air. There was only one sport that this could be._

_Quidditch._

_A girl with jet black hair, in green and silver robes, shot across the length of the field, a red leather ball secured tightly under her arm. A glare of determination was set upon her features. She passed the quaffle to her companion, a boy with greasy hair, also in green and silver robes, and flew around the goal posts, before coming zooming by him again. He tossed her a quick pass, to which she turned around and flung it into the metal hoops._

_The keepers fingertips had just managed to graze the ball._

_"Slytherin 20, Gryffindor 0." Cheers (though mostly 'boos') could be heard amongst the crowd as the two chasers shared a high-five. The girl hovered slightly, before turning around, giving the Slytherin audience a clear view of the back of her robes. _

_The number was 15._

_And the name strewn across her shoulders was six letters long._

_Potter._

* * *

"Miss Potter, what can I do for you today?" A cool voice asked as a tall woman entered the room. The setting was dark. It was a large lobby, made of stone, with granite flooring, and contained only two people. One being the cool secretary who had questioned Miss Potter, her name was Janet Pearce. And the other was Miss Potter herself.

"Any calls today, Janet?" She asked as she shouldered her messenger bag and smoothed out her wizard robes. She gratefully accepted a stack of papers that Janet had handed her as she began to make her way towards the elevator.

"None today, Miss. Though there was a message for you to meet with the Defense Secretary for lunch." She said brightly, before waving good-bye.

"Thanks Janet." She replied with a grin before entering the elevator. She calmly pushed the 'level 2' button and waited for the door to close patiently.

Of course, if 14 years ago, someone had told her that she would be patiently waiting in an elevator to enter her own private office at an American Auror Division, in which she was the commander of, she would have scoffed, and probably socked said person in the face.

Young Cornelia (Cory to her friends) liked to think that she had changed a lot in the past 14 years though. She was no longer quick tempered, nor was she quite as cynical or manipulative as she had once been. Four years of working in Europe through one of the worst wars of the time, and then moving to America, who had just started a war of their own, had definitely calmed her down some.

Not that she was too happy about it.

Sometimes Cory wished that she could go back to Europe and live how she normally did, but she knew that after the death of her brother, the traitorous Potter was unlikely to be accepted with open arms.

She sighed though, to clear her head, as the elevator opened up to her office door. She wandlessly opened it and let herself in, finally breathing a sigh of relief. Her office was her sanctuary, her home. It was where she could relax.

"Miss Potter? I hope I am not intruding?" A soft voice made her jump from her thoughts as she turned quickly to her fireplace, wand out in a flash.

"Ah, as reflexive as ever. Good…" He said thoughtfully. The man was old, very old. His white beard hung low into the ashes as his half-moon glasses tilted upon his nose. She grinned.

It was Albus Dumbledore.

"Ah, Professor. What brings you here?" She asked pleasantly as she beckoned him inside her office. He nodded slightly before backing out, and returning, this time, fully-bodied.

"Well Cory, I'm going to tell you this plain and simple. Lord Voldemort is back." She regarded him coolly. Of course she had received a slight bit of intelligence that Voldemort was rumored to be back, but she refused to let herself panic until she knew the truth.

"And which of your sources tell you that, Headmaster?"

"Your nephew, Harry Potter." He said solemnly. She blinked owlishly at the name of the relative.

"James made sure that he was no nephew of mine." She said frigidly, before regaining control. "But continue, please." She smiled pleasantly once again.

"Yes, well, you know most of all that Voldemort was not fully dead, but merely bidding his time," at her nod he continued. "Well he's finally done it. He used an intricate potion using Harry's blood in order to return to a full body."

She was horrified at the thought that her own nephew's blood had been used to bring back one of the most evil wizards of all time. She shivered at the thought.

"What can I do?" She asked almost immediately.

"I was hoping you would ask that. Transfer back to Britain, and join the Order of the Phoenix, for real this time. We need a spy in the ministry; I feel that they may begin to conspire against us." He said gravely.

"Of course I will. I'll send in my transfer papers now, just wait one moment, and we can discuss this further." She pointed him to a seat before walking over to one of her many filing cabinets. She opened a random one and pulled out a small stack of papers. With a wave of her wand, she lit her fire place and dropped the papers in along with some floo powder. Sticking her head in, she shouted the destination.

"Head of Magical Law Enforcement at the London Ministry of Magic!"

"There, now, Professor. What will I be doing for the Order?" She asked quietly.

"As I said, spying on the Ministry, going on various recruitment missions, fighting in battles…" He trailed off. She nodded to show her understanding.

"So like last time, except now I have nothing to hide?" She asked. Out of the corner of her eye she could see her fireplace erupt in green flames. She wandlessly summoned the papers over to her desk.

"Exactly." He smiled.

"Excellent." She grinned her famous Potter grin.

The papers on her desk had a large red word stamped across the front.

"Approved."

* * *

**A/N: So that was just the prologue, to see what everyone thinks. Please leave a review, and I'll continue this! I can't decide if I want it to be Cory/Sirius, Cory/Remus, or Cory/Snape. So for now, Sirius is the other main character, but be aware that that could change! Also, please try and head over to my other story "Reviving the Black Name: The Story of Shawn Black" if you get the opportunity! Also, the chapters will definitely be a lot longer than this, but I just wanted to get the ball rolling with the prologue.**

**My plan is to have the beginning of each chapter be something that went on during Cory's Hogwarts time, but not a flashback. Just like a scene sort of thing. The beginnings are going to be consistent with each other as the story goes along, while the second half will be what is going on in the present. Does that make sense? So like, the first half of each chapter will be a part of her time at Hogwarts, but it'll be a consistent story line, just like the second half. So you'll be learning more about Cory's past with each chapter. **

**Please Review!**

**-Shawn**


	2. Missing You

**Story Title: Crimson and Clover**

**Chapter Title: Missing You **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, Hogwarts, or anything from the books. I own Cory and any concepts, ideas, people or places that you may not have heard of, unless I say otherwise. The title comes from the song "Crimson and Clover" by Tommy James and the Shondells, though I originally got it from the song "A Praise Chorus" by Jimmy Eat World.**

**WARNING: This chapter has some mild language, nothing too bad, just wanted to post this in case it offends anyone.**

**Story Summary: **_**Cornelia "Cory" Potter was never the perfect child, no, that was left up to her brother James. Her twin brother, James Potter, who was younger than her by a mere 7 minutes, but was still younger nevertheless, was always better than she was. Always the one who was slightly better at flying, the one with the wicked sense of humor, the one with the good looks, the one who could get away with everything, the **_**Gryffindor. **_**When the hat shouted out that Cory was destined to forever adorn the Slytherin crest on her robes, her life went down the tubes. Her parents still loved her, sure, but James never forgave her. After his death, she moved to America, but now that Voldemort is back, she's been called back to fight. And fight she will. A Slytherin never backs down from battle, no matter which side they're on, and Cory is ready to take on her old friends, while fighting alongside her old enemies. **_

* * *

_"James! Let's go find a compartment!" A girl was dragging a boy about her age along the walkway of a train. She looked in curiously to each compartment she passed, still dragging the boy with her. The boy named James pulled free with a groan._

_"Cory, I can walk on my own thank you!" His voice was still slightly high pitched; obviously awaiting puberty as he nervously ruffled his already messy black hair. His hazel eyes stared at Cory with wonder as she continued to walk away._

_  
"Cornelia! I found an empty one!" He shouted as he ran to catch up with her. She turned around at the sound of her full name, and watched her twin disappear into a compartment. She jogged back and clambered inside, pulling her trunk along with her._

_  
"Aren't you so excited James?! We're finally going to Hogwarts!" She shouted with glee as she pulled out a potions book from her trunk. Her hazel eyes (identical to her brothers) scanned the pages with a wild look of excitement._

_"Yeah, we're finally away from home!" James matched her tone._

_  
"And we're gonna be sorted into Gryffindor--"_

_"--And pull loads of pranks--"_

_"--And we'll make the Quidditch team next year--"_

_"--And I'll meet loads of girls--"_

_"--And I'll be highest in all my classes--"_

_"--And you'll stay away from boys--" he said sternly._

_"--And you won't act like the older brother that you _aren't--"_ she matched his tone easily._

_"And we'll pull loads of pranks." They finished together. They sent each other identical grins, before looking up as the compartment door opened._

_"Excuse me, can we sit here? Everywhere else is full." It was a pale boy with black hair who asked the question. Behind him was another boy with sandy hair and scars on his face, he was also pale, but in an unhealthy way._

_"Yeah sure, you lot first years?" Cory asked, ever the extrovert. James looked away shyly and she couldn't help but smile._

_"Yeah, are you lot too?" The dark haired boy spoke again._

_"Yeah, I'm Cory, and this is my brother James." She pointed to him as he looked up with a shy smile._

_"I'm Sirius, and this is one's Remus. I just met him." He pointed to the sandy haired boy next to him, who smiled back shyly. Cory beckoned them in, and moved aside. Remus sat quietly next to her as Sirius moved next to James. Both James and Remus shied away. _

_"So what house do you lot want to be in?" Sirius asked after a few minutes of awkward silence._

_"Gryffindor of course!" Cory shouted proudly. Sirius smiled. He would definitely like this energetic girl._

_  
"Same, but I'm not sure. My whole family has been sorted into Slytherin for centuries." He said sadly. Cory cocked her head to one side._

_"And I thought you were alright mate." She said playfully._

_"Nah, mate. I don't want to be anything like the lot of them. They're all into the Dark Arts, that's not me." He shook his head. It wasn't long before the two got into easy conversation, James and Remus still staring off into the distance._

_Soon it began to darken outside and the train began to slow._

_"We better get changed. I'm going to the loo." Cory pulled out her uniform and pranced off to the bathroom, glad that she had made a friend. Now hopefully Sirius could get Remus and James out of their shells. _

_Five minutes later Cory walked out of the loo and entered her compartment once again. To her surprise she saw the three boys talking at ease with each other. She couldn't stop the smile that graced her lips._

_As she entered a prefect walked by._

_"You lot can leave your stuff on the train, it will be picked up later." He nodded to them and walked away. The three boys looked up in surprise to see her standing there._

_"You guys ready to go? We're here." She grinned happily as they exited the train. Sirius quickly fell into step with her and started a conversation about Quidditch._

_"Firs' years! Ov'r here! Come on now! Firs' Years Ov'r Here!" A huge man shouted. Sirius let out a small gasp when they saw him. His scraggly messy hair was hanging all about his face, and he had a huge trench coat that came to his knees._

_"Four t'a boat now!" The four first years scrambled into a boat together, Sirius and James in the front and Cory and Remus in the back. She sent him a reassuring grin, and was met with a weak smile. _

_"Forward!" The shout from the tall man came. The boats started moving forward, and there was a collective gasp from the first years. They turned a corner and ducked under some tree branches, and there was another gasp, this time of awe. They had just gotten their first look at the magnificent castle of Hogwarts. It was gorgeous. There were no words to describe what any of them were feeling. And they were going to be living there for the next seven years. _

_They came to the shore of the lake and got off the boats, before the tall man led them up to what would be the entrance hall. A strict looking young woman stood waiting for them, her arms crossed, and her lips in a thin line._

_"Thank you, Hagrid." She said curtly as the man--Hagrid--nodded. He left with a smile._

_"Welcome to Hogwarts. In just a moment you will be taken into the Great Hall, and sorted into your houses. There are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. For the next seven years, these houses will be like your family. You will gain points as rewards, but also lose points as punishments." She paused for a moment._

_"Let's begin the sorting ceremony." She led them through the huge oak doors and into the Great Hall. It was filled with five tables. Four were obviously house tables, and the last was raised on a stage, the heads table. Cory looked at the ceiling in awe, before she leaned over to Sirius and whispered._

_"They're charmed, to look like the night sky." Sirius looked at her in amazement._

_"Wicked."_

_The first years stopped and gathered in a mass in front of the stage._

_"When I call your name, you will come forward and I will place the sorting hat on your head. Abbott, Henry." A shivering boy with blonde hair fell out of line and scurried towards the stool._

_"Hufflepuff." The hat took a moment to deliberate. Figures._

_"Black, Sirius!" She shouted Sirius' name as Cory pushed him forward with a grin. He walked up to the stool cockily and sat down. The hat took a few moments to decide, and Sirius' hands were fidgeting. Cory looked on with confusion._

_"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat finally shouted. Cory was ecstatic. Her new friend would be in the same house as her. They sent each other thumbs up as he walked to the Gryffindor table. She couldn't wait._

_Cory zoned out for most of the sorting, until the P's began._

_"Patil, Ricky." A dark haired boy scurried up to the stage. By now there only about 10 first years left._

_"Ravenclaw!" The hat shouted._

_  
"Potter, Cornelia." James lightly prodded her as she stood wide-eyed. She straightened her back and held her head high. She walked lightly over to the stool as the Professor placed the hat on her head._

Ahh, you are a difficult one. _A voice appeared in her head. She looked around quickly._

Is this the sorting hat?_ She thought._

Yes, and I cannot figure out where to put you. _He thought thoughtfully._

Isn't that obvious? Gryffindor, of course._ She thought firmly._

I don't know, there's a darker presence here. You're cunning and sly, but also very brave. You would do very well in Slytherin._ He told her._

I'd probably also do _really_ well in Gryffindor_. She thought hopefully._

Trust me on this. Slytherin is where you belong._ She closed her eyes, a silent tear passing along her cheek._

Okay._ She sighed and took in another deep breath, closing her eyes and waiting for the verdict._

"_SLYTHERIN!" The hat shouted. Cory gulped audibly and took off the hat in a subdued way. She met James' eyes as she walked over to the far table. He looked lost and confused. She shrugged her shoulders. As she passed by the Gryffindor table, she met Sirius' eyes. His were filled with disgust and betrayal, and hers filled with hurt._

_"Welcome to Slytherin." A blonde boy said to her as she sat down quietly. He looked to be about a third year as he extended his pale hand forward._

_"Lucius Malfoy." He smirked._

_"Cory Potter." She matched his tone evenly. In the distance, she could hear her brother being sorted into Gryffindor. As she looked down at her plate, she suddenly wasn't so optimistic about her seven years at Hogwarts._

* * *

By the Monday after Dumbledore's visit, Cory had bought a new flat in the heart of London, moved in, and was now sitting in her new office at the Ministry of Magic. Her new office was small, certainly smaller than the one back home, and had no view, which she regretted terribly. It only held a medium sized desk and two chairs, one on either side of the desk. On the wall behind the desk hung a large cork board which already had several pins in it, and below that was a white board with several markers on the bottom. She had squashed filing cabinets along the walls, giving the small space an even tighter fit, and had already filled files from old cases. She had been made captain of a relatively large squadron. It was a large step down from commanding her own division, but things in Britain ran differently than they did in America, so she was grateful that she would at least be overseeing some people.

By 8:45 that morning, Cory had already made a mess of her office, causing it to resemble her old one. She had papers scattered all over her desk, obscuring the wooden work table, on her cork board hung several newspaper clippings and photos of crime scenes. She was researching what had happened on the night of the Third Task at Hogwarts. She looked at the official Ministry reports, as well as any news or gossip articles she could find on it. She huffed and ran a hand through her long dark hair (a habit that would remind one of her younger brother, James) and chewed her pencil thoughtfully. She scribbled on a notebook at a fierce pace before groaning again, and leaning back on the legs of her chair. She chewed the pencil one more time before flicking it down in disgust. Nothing seemed to be pointing in any same direction.

By 9:00, her first assignment came in by way of what resembled a paper airplane.

_So I guess this means they got rid of the owls? That's efficient of them; I would always be cleaning up bird droppings._ She thought sardonically as she opened the piece of paper. She leaned forward on her chair once again, allowing gravity to pull it back to the ground, and ruffled her hair.

_Captain Potter,_

_You're assignment is to investigate and bring into custody Thomas Jenkins, a werewolf who has been seen with a newborn son. You will locate him, question him with any means necessary, and bring him into a Ministry holding cell, where he will be questioned and investigated thoroughly. After you have completed your mission, you must return to your office and file out a report, which shall be waiting on your desk when you arrive. If you do not require back up, do not bring any._

The note was not signed, but a small Ministry crest was printed on the bottom. She glared furiously at the letter.

"Like hell I'll be needing back up! I'm not doing this!" She crumpled up the note and stood from the desk quickly. She stomped around it and wrenched open the door, glaring out onto the floor.

"_Point me._" She whispered as she pulled out her wand inconspicuously. It pointed to the lift, which she walked over to, seething. Her wand changed directions and pointed straight up, so she pushed the button for one floor up. For the first time in over ten years, she waited for the door to close impatiently. Her leg twitched angrily as she took in calming breaths. The lift raised one floor. Her wand continued to point upwards, so she pressed it again, beginning to cool down slightly. As the lift stopped at the next floor, her wand swiveled again, this time pointing straight forward. Directly down the hall was a door that she knew led to the secretary's office, which led to Minister Fudge's office. She huffed again, before stomping down the hallway. She could practically feel the steam pouring out of her ears. As she got to the end of the hall, she wrenched open the door and stormed in. She turned to the desk and scrunched her face in anger.

"What is the meaning of this?!" She slapped down the mission order onto the desk and crossed her arms.

"Miss…Potter. This looks like an order to carry out a mission." The woman at the desk was short and stout, complete opposite of Cory's tall and thin frame. Her face was rather toad like, with beady, untrustworthy eyes.

"I'm aware, thanks." She spat. "But the mission, what sort of place is this?! A werewolf taken into custody because he has a son?! Werewolves can't pass down their lycanthropy to their young. Anyone who doesn't know that is a fool who deserves to get their asses sent back to Hogwarts, for another _seven_ years!" She was so angry she was practically frothing at the mouth.

The secretary looked slightly taken aback, but smiled her fake sugary sweet smile at her. Cory wanted to gag.

"Miss Potter, are you aware that a law has passed that disallows werewolves from procreating?" Her tone made it very clear that she knew Cory was aware of the law.

"Are you aware, Miss…" She looked down at the gold nameplate on the woman's desk momentarily, "_Umbridge_ that that law is completely immoral, and _whoever created it_," here she looked pointedly at the secretary, "should be sent to Azkaban for their crimes against humanity." She leaned in closely to the desk, the menacing glare on her features making it obvious as to why she had been sorted into Slytherin when she was eleven.

"Are you saying that you think Ministry Laws are crimes against humanity?" Her question was asked threateningly, but Cory gave it no thought.

"Are you as stupid as you look? Or do you just not understand the art of the English language?" She bit back. Umbridge raised her thinly plucked eyebrow.

"I am the Senior Undersecretary to the Minster of Magic!" She shouted shrilly, "I will not be spoken to in that manner!"

"And I am Auror Captain Cornelia Potter, I don't do shit-based missions." She glared down at the woman again, causing her to stand up and draw herself to full height. Her measly 5'2" was nowhere matched for Cory's 6' frame.

"It's time to realize where your loyalties lie, Potter. This isn't America, we don't run the same way." The underlying threat would have been obvious to anyone watching, but once again Cory didn't give it a second thought.

"Where my loyalties lie is none of your business, _Senior Undersecretary,"_ She said the title with disgust. "They lie with the Ministry whenever I am in this building, but whenever else, it is my business."

"You signed the Auror code, pledging your allegiance to the Ministry." She sort of growled.

"I pledge my allegiance whenever I don these robes. But the Auror code also comes with a moral code. And what you're asking me to do goes completely against my morals, and morals set down by the founders of this Ministry." Umbridge looked like she was about to cut in, but Cory silenced her with another glare. "It's people like _you_, Umbridge, who are tearing this place down. And if I have to stand by and watch it, you can bet your ass that you're going to lose one of the best Aurors this place has ever seen." The threat was open for Umbridge to see, and she stuttered to find her next words.

"Good day, Miss Potter. Another mission will be sent down shortly." She sat down and sighed, obviously defeated. Cory nodded her head.

"Oh, and Miss Umbridge. I'll be lobbying to get the law rescinded." She promised as she walked out the door. As soon as it slammed shut, she could hear Umbridge shriek in anger. She chuckled as she walked back to the lift.

Cory paused momentarily as the door opened before letting herself in. There was only one other occupant in the lift. He was about her height, with blonde hair and pale skin. He had a stack of papers under one arm, and a walking cane in the other. The cane had a snake head on the handle. Of course, Cory would know that cane anywhere.

"_Lucius Malfoy?!_" She shouted with glee as the man looked at her in shock. There was an awkward moment between the two before his eyes widened in recognition.

"Cory Potter?" He asked with wonder. At her excited nod he dropped his stack of papers, along with his cane, and swept her up into a huge hug. She returned it fiercely, before sighing into his arms. It was surely good to be back.

The lift stopped at her floor.

"This is my stop, can we meet up later?" She asked with sadness as she stood in the threshold of the lift.

"Come by the Manor after your shift. Narcissa and I would love to catch up." He smiled and let her go.

"I'll be there around four." She nodded to him once again as they both regained composure. It wouldn't do to have Slytherin alumni walking around like a bunch of bumbling idiots.

The rest of her day passed by without fail. She was anxiously awaiting her meeting with the Malfoys. Contrary to what that crazy Undersecretary had said, she had not received another mission, which made her anxious. The one thing Cory loved about her job was getting out there into the fray. She loved the fight and battle more than anything. Anything to keep her moving.

Finally, the clock struck four, and at that time, Cory was bolting out of her seat and through the office building. As she arrived at the floo, she fumbled frustrated with the powder.

"Malfoy Manor!" She shouted before tucking her elbows in. She waited until she passed by the proper grate, before stepping through with elegance that could only belong to a Slytherin.

"Cory, how lovely to see you." She shook the soot out of her hair before sending a genuine smile to Lucius.

"I've missed you guys, a lot." Her American accent clashed with his British one as they share another hug.

"As we have missed you, come, sit. Let us discuss what has gone on in your absence." He led her to the living room and sat her down, before snapping his fingers. A house-elf appeared quietly and set down a tray of tea and biscuits before disappearing with a loud '_crack'._

He offered her tea and she nodded thankfully.

"Two sugars and cream, correct?" He added the ingredients before she could even nod.

"You remember?" She asked with wonder.

"Of course, I remember. We were best friends for a long time." It was true. The two had been friends all through her Hogwarts years and the First War.

"So tell me, what has brought you back to the motherland?" He asked conversationally as she sipped her tea quietly. He smirked at her, as she choked slightly.

"Haven't had British tea in years." She said fondly. He smiled knowingly.

"You avoided the question."

"I know _you_ know why I'm back. So let's avoid the formalities please." She asked quietly. He nodded, his face suddenly turning serious.

"You know that the Dark Lord is back." It wasn't a question.

"I had heard that. This only confirmed it." She averted her eyes. She knew what was coming next.

"So what side do you plan to choose? It's different this time around." He started before she could interrupt him.

"How so?" She asked lightly.

"The Ministry is no longer what we're fighting against."

"We?" She looked confused.

"Us, you, me, the Death Eaters." He said as if she was missing something.

"Don't lump me with them, I'm currently undecided." She said lightly. He looked at her with an unknown emotion.

"So what are you fighting against then, if not the Ministry?" She asked quietly.

"The Ministry doesn't believe that the Dark Lord is back. Dumbledore does, however. He's pulling back his Order of the Phoenix. It's a free for all right now. The Dark Lord is lying low, letting the Ministry and Dumbledore fight it out." He filled her in on what she had been missing.

"That's smart of him." She said conversationally.

"He's a brilliant man." He matched her tone easily.

"That much is obvious. The question is rather based on his sanity, however. You realize what you're getting into, by joining him?" She asked seriously.

"Do _you_ realize that you had this exact conversation with me almost 2 decades ago? And from what I've heard, you also had this same conversation with Severus_ and _Regulus?" They had reverted back to their light conversation.

"Have you ever noticed that all your names end with 'us'?" She giggled.

"You've also pointed that out. Let's get serious, Cory. I know what I got in almost 20 years, and I've made it this far." He said pointedly.

"That is true, but Lucius, you can't ask me to make that same sacrifice." She searched his eyes, but all she saw was sincerity.

"I'm not. I'm just asking that when you make that sacrifice, you choose carefully." He met her gaze.

"Who says I have to choose sides? You've heard of neutrality." She tilted her head.

"But that's not who you are. You can tell me if you've chosen already. You can trust me, you _know_ you can." She once again saw nothing but pure sincerity in his eyes.

"If you know me, then you know that I've already chosen sides with Dumbledore." He closed his eyes in anguish.

"I was preparing myself to hear this all day, but it doesn't make it any easier." He said his voice full of sorrow.

"I'm sorry." She whispered truthfully.

"It's not your fault. It's never your fault Core, it's just, I can't lose you too." He whispered sadly, his voice torn.

"We've lost Regulus, and Bell and Rab and Rudolphus are all in Azkaban. You, Sev, and Narcissa of course are all that I have left of the old group. If you join the _other_ side, that makes us enemies. Do you know what the Dark Lord does to his enemies?" She hated seeing him like this.

"Of course I do, I lost my entire family to him." She whispered.

"I know, which is why I understand that you have to do this. But he stands for the right things. He wants blood purity." He said, looking hopeful.

"Blood purity means nothing to me, it never has." She raised an eyebrow.

"I know, which is why I know this isn't right for you." He stood and helped her up.

"Before I go, I need to ask you two things." She halted him.

"Anything for you, Cory." He said quietly.

"First, we cannot let this get in the way of our friendship. Just because we believe in two totally different things doesn't mean I'm going to give you up. I can't say the same thing about everyone else from our old group, but you and Narcissa are special to me, and I cannot lose you two like I've lost everyone else." She said solemnly.

"Of course, Cory. This house is always open for you, as are our arms." He said with a grin.

"Cheesy!" She giggled. He caught her in another hug.

"And the other favor?" He asked quietly. She mumbled into his shirt.

"What?" He asked in confusion. She pulled away.

"On the battlefield, _should_ we ever meet…I'll ignore you, if you ignore me. We do not fight each other. I refuse to fight you." She said quietly.

"As I refuse to fight you." He stuck his hand out. She met him half-way.

"So we're in accordance? A truce, sort of?" He nodded at her question.

"Then I'll make my leave. I have _things_ to do." She winked at him. He laughed and shook his head.

"It's good to have you back, Core." He walked her to the fireplace.

"Good to be back, mate." She smiled again as he lit his fireplace. She grabbed a handful of floo powder.

"Cory, anything you need, _anything_ at all, we're here." She nodded.

"I know." With one last smile, she dropped the powder into the grate.

"The Yankee Flat!" She shouted with a giggle. She still couldn't get over the name. As she spun away, she could hear Lucius' laughter.

For the third time that day she walked out of the fireplace with grace that could only match a true snake. She looked around her quiet, empty flat, before pulling out a slip of paper from her pocket. There, in loopy handwriting (Dumbledore's of course), were instructions.

"_You may find the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix at Number 12 Grimmauld Place." _She memorized the name before setting the slip on fire and stomping it out. Leaving the ashy pile on her floor, she apparated out, and landed on a street corner. The sign above her saying Grimmauld Place.

She walked down the familiar sidewalk. It still had not changed in the last 15 years. She looked up, there, wedged between 11 and 13, stood Number 12, as magnificent as always. With one brave look around her, she swallowed deeply.

"Here we go." She whispered.

She opened the door.

* * *

**A/N:** **Yeah, I wrote this all today, and it's 11 pages long, and 4,500 words, so I'm amazing. Two chapters in two days. I want to say thanks to Being.You.Is.Enough for being my FIRST REVIEWER!! Yay! Thanks a bunch! Please let me know what you think of the story! Also, I realize Lucius may seem a bit out of character, but Cory was one of his closest friends for a long time, and we've never seen Lucius with real friends, so I can only assume that there is **_**some**_** good in him. Also, I'm going to have a poll. Should this story be Sirius/Cory or Cory/Remus? It'll be in my profile, but you can also just leave it in a review if you like. I don't know when the next chapter will be up, because I have to try and balance between this and my other story. But reviews will definitely help!**

**-Shawn**


	3. To Be a Potter

**Story Title: Crimson and Clover**

**Chapter Title: To Be a Potter **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, Hogwarts, or anything from the books. I own Cory and any concepts, ideas, people or places that you may not have heard of, unless I say otherwise. The title comes from the song "Crimson and Clover" by Tommy James and the Shondells, though I originally got it from the song "A Praise Chorus" by Jimmy Eat World.**

**Warning: Might be some mild language again. I know it's rated T because of it, but I like to warn people, just in case. **

**Story Summary: **_**Cornelia "Cory" Potter was never the perfect child, no, that was left up to her brother James. Her twin brother, James Potter, who was younger than her by a mere 7 minutes, but was still younger nevertheless, was always better than she was. Always the one who was slightly better at flying, the one with the wicked sense of humor, the one with the good looks, the one who could get away with everything, the **_**Gryffindor. **_**When the hat shouted out that Cory was destined to forever adorn the Slytherin crest on her robes, her life went down the tubes. Her parents still loved her, sure, but James never forgave her. After his death, she moved to America, but now that Voldemort is back, she's been called back to fight. And fight she will. A Slytherin never backs down from battle, no matter which side they're on, and Cory is ready to take on her old friends, while fighting alongside her old enemies. **_

* * *

_Cory was sprinting through the halls, laughing gleefully the whole way as she thought of the prank she had just pulled. Soon the whole group of Slytherin 4__th__ years would find their rooms covered in scarlet goop. It was the perfect plan, and pinning it on the Gryffindor quartet--the marauders--was just icing on the cake.__"Whoa! What's got you in such a rush, Cory?" A pair of arms caught her around the waist as she attempted to turn the corner. She saw her captors face and smiled._

_"Hey Jamsie. Guess what!!" She shouted with joy as he let her go, smiling slightly at his sisters antics._

_"What?" He asked with wonder. Was he mocking her?_

_"They just posted the Slytherin Quidditch team roster! I'm playing center!" She jumped up and down, hardly able to contain her excitement. James caught her up in a hug._

_"That's awesome! I guess things around here are turning out like we planned then?" He asked playfully._

_"Huh? How?" She looked confused, finally coming down slightly from her high._

_"Well, you and I will be playing on the pitch at the same time, only we'll be against each other I suppose. I was made center too!" The two jumped up and down together before she tackled her brother in a hug._

_"That's amazing! But you're so going down!" She teased._

_"No way, I'm so much better at Quidditch than you are." James denied._

_"That's funny." She said sarcastically._

_"Your face is funny." _

_"Your mo--no, never mind." She sighed as her joke was ruined._

_"Haha, fail." He said bluntly._

_She glared jokingly._

_"So what have you been up to? I only ever see you in Potions, Transfig, and Defense." Those were the only classes that Gryffindor and Slytherin 2__nd__ years shared together._

_"Not much. I'm top in all my classes except for Transfiguration and Potions." She said brightly._

_"Oh, and who's higher than you in those two classes?" He asked with false wonder._

_"Oh, don't play dumb. You know you're higher than me in Transfiguration. And Severus is higher than me in Potions, where I'm tied with your Lily-Flower." She teased._

_"Ugh, why are you friends with Snivellus Snape?" He looked disgusted, though Cory knew that he was just trying to avoid the last part of her statement._

_"Because he is the only relatively nice person in my year. He's a decent guy, and a good friend to me. None of the other kids in my year will give me a chance because I'm a _Potter_." She said sadly._

_"Are you ashamed of who you are now?" He asked her seriously, all hints of a joke gone from his face._

_"Of course not! It's just, I wish everything wasn't based on ancestry, you know. I mean, so what if we're a light-sided family. There are neutral families in Slytherin. They shouldn't judge me just because my family _and_ I don't find Dark magic appealing." She sighed._

_"I'm sorry. If it makes it any easier, people gave Sirius a hard time for a while." He said sympathetically as the two of them sat down against the wall._

_"Yeah, well, I can see why. His older cousins are jerks. They're so annoying. The only decent one is Lucius, and he's hardly related. But that Bellatrix is insane, and Narcissa isn't too far behind." She groaned. James laughed._

_"Yeah, he said that they were quite the handful. What do you think of his little brother Regulus though? I hear he was starting to loosen up before Hogwarts." James asked curiously._

_"Awww, Reg is a sweetie. He's so nice and innocent. He's a first year though, so I expect that innocence will leave him soon enough. But he's a good friend. He, Sev, and I have been hanging out a lot together recently. Reg's been getting some grief about his brother too." She gushed to her brother._

_"I'm glad you're at least looking out for him then. Sirius doesn't like to admit it, but he cares about Regulus." He said quietly._

_"I think Reg secretly cares about Sirius too." She responded._

_The twins sat in silence for a moment, neither one seeing it fit to break the moment of peace between them. Even after Cory had been sorted into Slytherin, and they were deemed enemies, the two made it a point to keep in contact as much as possible. They were best friends before Hogwarts, and they intended to have that last until long after their education was over._

_Cory was about to open her mouth when they heard footsteps pounding down the corner. Her eyes widened in alarm. James looked at her curiously, but had no time to ask his question as she yanked him up and they tore down the hall._

_"POTTER!" Came the voices of 10 _very _angry Slytherin 4__th__ years, all of whom were covered in red goop._

_Cory took a look at her twin brother, who was beaming back at her. It was obvious that he knew who had performed the prank._

_"Same time next week?" He gasped out as they turned another corner, still sprinting at full speed. They could hear the fourth years pounding after them._

_"Yeah, I'll see you around, kid!" She screamed as they split off in different directions._

_"Don't call me that!" James whined._

_Cory slowed. It was nice to speak to her brother. She turned around to see the progress that the fourth years were making. They had just rounded the corner._

_"Bugger!" She cursed, before she tore off again._

* * *

Cory walked into the house with a gasp. While everything was covered with a thick layer of dust, it was exactly the way she had left it over 15 years ago; the last time she had seen Regulus. She examined the Troll leg, the same wallpaper, the same squeaky floor-board. The only new edition was a curtain on the wall. What was behind it, Cory had no idea, but if it was being covered up in the _Black_ house, it couldn't be good.

"Hello?" She called out cautiously.

"State your name and business!" A gruff voice said loudly as she felt the cool tip of a wand against her jugular. She barely managed to look up at her apprehender.

"Mad-Eye?" She asked in wonder.

"State your name and business!" He repeated, digging his wand in further. Cory was about to answer when a plump woman came out of the kitchen doorway. She crossed her arms and huffed.

"Really, Alastor. She's a new recruit; you're _going_ to scare her off." She told him sternly. Mad-Eye's wand only wavered slightly.

"As soon as she states her name and business, I'll let her go." Cory opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted for the second time, when two pairs of footsteps thundered down the stairs.

"Bloody Hell--"

"--Mad-Eye Moody--"

"--in action! Is she--"

"--a Death Eater?!" Two identical voices took turns speaking. Cory closed her eyes painfully; she and James had once been like that.

"Fred, George, no. She is not a Death Eater; she's part of the Order, Alastor!" She directed the last part to Mad-Eye, but he still didn't let up on Cory.

"Answer the bloody question!" He dug his wand further in. Cory winced as sparks shot from it.

"Cory Potter! I'm part of the Order of the Phoenix! I was told there was a meeting today!" She said quickly, so that she wasn't interrupted again. Mad-Eye dropped his wand and stared at her for a moment.

"I haven't seen Cory Potter in 14 years, how do I really know it's you?" He eyed her suspiciously (with both eyes).

"Well, _I'm_ the only one who knows what you used to wear to--" He clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Okay! Okay! She is who she says she is." He rushed. Cory couldn't suppress her giggle.

"Hello, Cory. I'm Molly Weasley, and these are my two sons, Fred and George. You can ignore them if you like, that's what we do." She smiled welcomingly as I followed her into the kitchen. It had changed; everything looked less elegant and expensive now. She frowned, of course if _he_ had taken over, things would change.

"Pleasure to meet you Molly. And your twins are perfectly fine; I know how rowdy they can be." She said a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

"Yes, Albus did tell me." She nodded, before setting a kettle on the stove.

"I was just about to make a spot of tea before the meeting, would you like some?" She asked pleasantly.

"Oh, no thank you. I'm still trying to readjust myself, only one cup a day for now." Blood rushed up her cheeks.

"Of course, you lot drink _coffee_ in America, don't you?" She looked distasteful as she said the word 'coffee'.

"I'm not much for that either, I've been trying to give up on caffeine." Cory shrugged.

Molly nodded, and the three adults sat in silence as the twins slunk upstairs. They sat there for about 10 minutes, no one talking; the only sound was the sipping of tea.

"We should get to the Drawing Room, the meeting will start soon." Molly stood up, put the tea cups away, and waited for the other two to follow suit. They followed her into the Drawing Room (Cory knowing exactly where it was), and saw that most of the Order was already gathered there. Everyone greeted each other for a few moments while Cory hung off to the side. She knew some of them, but didn't know all, and would rather wait until Dumbledore could introduce her.

Suddenly there was a bang as wood hit wood. Dumbledore had begun the meeting.

"Good evening everyone. First, I would like to introduce you all to Cornelia Potter. Most of you Aurors probably remember her, or knew her from her school time. She has kindly agreed to return to Britain and aid us in our efforts against darkness." A few people looked like they wanted to object to the new member, but once Dumbledore says something, it wasn't right to go against it.

"Next, if you will turn your attention to this board," he gestured to the blackboard behind him, "you will see who has guard duty, when and where." Dumbledore sent her a look saying that he would fill her in later.

"Does anyone have any new information?" A tall, sandy-haired man stood up. He was wearing tattered robes, and his face was littered with scars. Cory's eyes narrowed, it was Remus Lupin.

"I've sent envoys to the werewolves, but most of them are siding with Voldemort. Only a few are choosing to remain neutral." Lupin cleared his throat quietly, obviously trying to avoid Cory's penetrating gaze.

Dumbledore nodded, but didn't look surprised. While werewolves shouldn't necessarily be classified as Dark creatures, they _were_ alienated by the Light.

"Anything else of interest?" He looked around the room. No one seemed as if they had anything to share. Obviously there hadn't been many missions set out yet.

"Um…If anyone who works at the Ministry is willing to rally behind me, I'll be lobbying to have the half-breed ban on children rescinded." Cory said quietly as she met Dumbledore's penetrating stare. She squinted in concentration as she secured her Occlumency shields, allowing Dumbledore to only see what had gone on earlier in the day.

Remus turned his head sharply.

"Is there a reason for this, Cornelia?" The girl rolled her eyes at the use of her full name, but stood up, hands tucked into her pockets.

"I had a run in with that _Umbridge_ woman today," she started distastefully. "She wanted me to go arrest a werewolf because he had a kid. So I gave her hell and made her rethink giving me missions on 'half-breed apprehension.'" She used her fingers to emphasize the last bit of her statement.

"So if anyone else believes that the ministry is full of crap because they think that werewolves and other half-breeds don't have the same rights as us, then please, show your support when the time comes." She pulled her hands out of her pockets and drew herself to full height, conveying a look of confidence.

The room broke out into whispers, so she just shrugged her shoulders and sat back down.

"Alright, alright!" Dumbledore shouted. "So just check when you're going to be guarding what, and if Remus, Sirius, Alastor, Molly, Arthur, Bill, Charlie, and Cornelia could please remain for a moment, I have a matter that I need to discuss with you all." He nodded to the aforementioned people, before allowing the others to exit the Drawing Room.

Cory took this as her opportunity to look around the room with fondness. It, like the rest of the house, had not changed much since the last time she'd seen it. Obviously after the death of her son and husband, Wallburga, the Black matriarch, had stopped caring for the house. Not that she minded of course, it was nice to have a little bit of her past that had remained relatively unchanged.

"Now, we have a problem at hand." Dumbledore said as the eight people gathered around him.

Cory looked around at the people with a calculating face.

"Is this about Harry?" She asked suddenly, causing all the faces to swivel around to her.

"Um…yes. How did you know?" Dumbledore asked uncertainly. Sirius Black looked as if he would interject, but Dumbledore held up a hand to silence him.

"Well, I figure everyone here has some tie to Harry, right? Remus and Sirius are obvious, you told me that the younger Weasleys are friends with Harry, so that makes everyone else obvious…Except for Mad-Eye, but I assume he's just here because he likes to be involved in decision making." She finished in one breath. Mad-Eye looked a little disgruntled at her comment, but Dumbledore's eye twinkle was in full blast.

"Excellent deduction, Cory. As sharp as always I see." Cory waved off the comment and asked for him to continue.

"Yes, well, here is the thing. Harry doesn't know that you exist." Dumbledore said warily, as if awaiting her to explode. Cory just nodded her head.

"James made awfully sure that that wouldn't happen anyway, continue please." She shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, Harry, like you and James, doesn't really like to be kept in the dark. When he finds out that he has another aunt, he won't be very happy. So since you all know him best," Cory coughed at this, "I hope that you guys can come up with something to do."

"We shouldn't tell him. He doesn't need to be even _more_ ashamed of his family. He's already related to those horrid muggles." Sirius said with disgust. Cory snarled in response.

"He should be ashamed that James was ever friends with anyone like you." She glared. Sirius matched her eyes with the same intensity.

"He's never been told about you before, he won't even care. He doesn't need anyone else; he has everyone he needs in this house right now." Sirius growled.

"Notice how I'm in this house, idiot." She snarled.

"Then get out of my house!" Sirius shouted.

"Wallburga didn't even will it to you! It belongs to Narcissa, _technically_." She mocked.

"Well _technically_ I am the last Black, so get your arse out of my ancestral home, _now_."

"Oh, I never knew you cared about ancestry, _Black!_ Isn't that supposed to be the same reason that you hate me? Because of all this pure-blood elitist bullshit?" By now the two were both breathing heavily, wands out, ready to strike.

"Will you two stop acting like children?!" Molly shouted as the stout woman stood between the two. It must have been a funny sight, as both Cory and Sirius had at least half a foot on the woman.

"Yes, Molly." Cory bowed her head shamefully as Sirius just shook his head in disgust.

"Well, I think Harry has a right to know. The poor boy needs his family around, especially if they're wizards." Molly said kindly. The rest of the Weasleys (and Alastor, surprisingly) agreed with her.

Sirius and Remus were quick to rebuke, however.

"He's going to want to know why we didn't tell him earlier." Remus shook his head.

"Just tell him that I got disowned and nobody liked to talk about me. I don't really care." Cory shrugged with a look of indifference.

"I still think we shouldn't tell him." Sirius huffed.

"Look, whenever mom and dad would keep something from James, he would always get super pissed. Eventually they learned that the sooner they told him something, the less angry he would get. The same thing applied to me, and I'm sure to my dad as well. If Harry is as much of a Potter as you lot say he is, then he's going to want to know the truth sooner, rather than later." Cory said bitterly.

"He's going to wonder why he wasn't told earlier though, or why he couldn't live with you instead of those awful Dursleys." Remus said thoughtfully.

"Like I said, just tell him that I was disowned, so I was technically no longer a part of his family. Then tell him that I moved to America, and no one except for my closest friends, which none of you were, were able to reach me. If he asks why he couldn't live with me, tell him it was because James totally wrote me out of the will. It was impossible for me to gain custody over him because I wasn't stated to be a guardian, nor was I a part of the family any longer." Cory was surely making this up as she went along, though no one could tell.

"Okay, so we'll tell him, and be ready for the consequences?" Mad-Eye asked gruffly.

"Hope for the best--" Cory answered.

"--Prepare for the worst. Yeah, yeah, I got you."

* * *

**A/N:** **Wow…three chapters in as many days! I don't know why I love writing this story so much, I just do. Not as long as last week, but it's still about 3000 words, and 8 pages long, so I'm pretty happy with it. How do you all like the 3****rd**** person? For those of you who don't read my other story 'Reviving the Black Name…' I write it in 1****st**** person, so it's a bit different to write both of them at the same time. In other news, I updated another chapter of 'Reviving' so go read it too! And thanks to ****cocogirl198**** for reviewing last chapter! It made me happy :). Ummm…I guess that's it, though please please please Review!! And let me know if you want Cory/Remus or Cory/Sirius. The poll is now up!**

**-Shawn**


	4. Shut Up!

**Story Title: Crimson and Clover**

**Chapter Title: Shut Up!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, Hogwarts, or anything from the books. I own Cory and any concepts, ideas, people or places that you may not have heard of, unless I say otherwise. The title comes from the song "Crimson and Clover" by Tommy James and the Shondells, though I originally got it from the song "A Praise Chorus" by Jimmy Eat World.**

**Warning: Might be some mild language again. I know its rated T because of it, but I like to warn people, just in case. **

**Story Summary: **_**Cornelia "Cory" Potter was never the perfect child, no, that was left up to her brother James. Her twin brother, James Potter, who was younger than her by a mere 7 minutes, but was still younger nevertheless, was always better than she was. Always the one who was slightly better at flying, the one with the wicked sense of humor, the one with the good looks, the one who could get away with everything, the **_**Gryffindor. **_**When the hat shouted out that Cory was destined to forever adorn the Slytherin crest on her robes, her life went down the tubes. Her parents still loved her, sure, but James never forgave her. After his death, she moved to America, but now that Voldemort is back, she's been called back to fight. And fight she will. A Slytherin never backs down from battle, no matter which side they're on, and Cory is ready to take on her old friends, while fighting alongside her old enemies. **_

* * *

_"First Hogsmeade weekend ever!!" Cory shouted in Severus' ear, causing him to wince painfully. They were sitting next to each other at breakfast, which caused the other Slytherins to look over at them with distaste._

_"Yeah, yeah, rub it in why don't you?" The boy across from them looked downtrodden as he picked at his eggs mournfully, causing his dark curls to curtain his gray eyes and pale face._

_"Aww, I'm sorry Reg. Next year we'll take you to all the coolest places. And this year we'll get you loads of stuff. We'll get you some Zonkos pranks and maybe some butterbeer, and some Honeydukes chocolate for sure!" She promised._

_"Thanks, Core." He said quietly, those his face brightened up a small bit._

_"Do we really have to go to Zonkos?" Sev groaned. Cory laughed loudly at this._

_"Of course we do, silly. How else are we going to prank those fifth years?" She said loudly, sending a sly smile to Lucius Malfoy, who was two seats over. Lucius sighed and walked over to the two third years._

_"Severus, Cory, would you like to join us at the Three Broomsticks around 1:00 for lunch?" He asked cordially._

_"Sure thing, Luce." Cory smiled._

_"Excellent." He drawled before joining his other friends as they walked out the door._

_"Wow, lunch with the fifth years?" Regulus asked in awe._

_  
"Of course, silly. They _are_ our friends." She shook her head as if she was talking to a three-year-old._

_"Come on, Sev. Let's go get a carriage!" She exclaimed as she pulled her friend up. Though Cory couldn't see it, Regulus stifled a chuckle at Severus' tortured look._

_"Go easy on him, Core." Regulus warned as they walked away._

_"Do you mind if Lily Evans comes with us?" Severus asked quietly. _

_"You two are friends aren't you? Of course I don't mind." She smiled happily._

_Lily met up with the two Slytherins as soon as they exited the Great Hall._

_"Hello." She said pleasantly. Normally Cory would have been annoyed by the sweetness, but it was Hogsmeade, nothing could bring her down._

_"Hello!" She chirped back._

_"Lily." Severus nodded._

_"Don't mind him, he's being a sourpuss." Cory teased. And with that the two girls laughed and linked arms, causing Severus to trail behind._

_"So where do you want to go? I'm thinking Honeydukes and Zonkos, and the Three Broomsticks." She ticked off on her fingers as she went down the list._

_"Well I need a new quill, so I'm thinking Scrivenshaft's. And a visit to Galdrags would be nice, I hear they have interesting clothes." Lily said happily._

_"Sounds great. Is that alright with you, Sev?" She asked him quietly as they settled into their carriage._

_"I suppose." He muttered._

_"Oh come on! Cheer up, mate. We're going to Hogsmeade! I'll buy some new chocolateeee." She prodded. A slight smile appeared on his lips._

_"There you go!" She nodded happily._

_The carriage soon came to a stop, and the three third years quickly piled out. Lily and Severus let out simultaneous groans as they faced the village. Cory turned to investigate and saw the reason for their discomfort: at the top of the hill stood their sworn enemies--the Marauders._

_"Fantastic." Lily muttered angrily._

_The three walked up as inconspicuously as possible. Just when they thought they had made it by, a whoosh of air and a gasp was heard from behind the two girls. They turned around with a groan and saw Severus hanging upside down from his left ankle._

_"James Potter!" Came identical shrieks from the girls. James looked wide-eyed at the two of them. It wasn't often that two of the most important women in his life shouted at him at once. The only way it could have been worse was if his mother was there as well._

_"Hello, ladies." He said charmingly. Lily's eyes narrowed in anger, while Cory groaned._

_"Stop it, James. Let him down please." She only said the 'please' as a formality, but James got the hint. Let him down or die._

_"We're just having a bit of a laugh, Cory." James smiled._

_"Yeah, and if you don't let him down in the next five seconds, I'll be having a _laugh_ at your black and blue face." She threatened, raising a fist in the air. He looked at her as if she was bluffing._

_"One." Severus still hung high._

_"Two." A small bead of sweat had formed on James' brow. She glared fiercely._

_"Three." Severus dropped an inch. Cory advanced swiftly, her fist high in the air._

_"Four." James' eyes widened, and just as she was about to take her breath for number five, Severus dropped to the ground with a small thud._

_"Now say you're sorry." She warned._

_"Oh, come on, Cory." James groaned._

_"Now, James." Her eyes flashed. Just as he was about to open his mouth, his side-kick, Sirius Black, came to his rescue._

_"James, you shouldn't be taking orders from Corny over here." He said lightly._

_"Excuse me?" She asked, offended._

_"James shouldn't be listening to anyone with a green and silver crest on their robes." They got in each others faces, eyes flashing angrily. Even at thirteen, their heights matched evenly, though Sirius' muscles from playing beater in Quidditch gave him a slight edge._

_"What James shouldn't be listening to is someone as idiot and barbaric as you." She said lowly._

_"Don't you mean 'who'?" He corrected with a smirk._

_"No, because 'who' would actually refer to a human being, which you _aren't_." She finished delicately._

_James cleared his throat uncomfortably. _

_"Let's just go, you guys." He said quietly. Remus and Peter turned to walk away, James followed quietly, tugging on Sirius' arm._

_He gave her one last menacing glare before turning around._

_Cory turned to face her companions, all traces of anger gone._

_"So, who's up for some pranks?" _

* * *

A lot had happened between the last meeting, and when Cory had received word that there would be another one. She had been sent on one Dark Artifacts raid in Yorkshire, but other than that, nothing out of the ordinary had happened. It had been a Tuesday when Cory had been told by another Auror, Kingsley Shacklebot, that the meeting would take place that Saturday, August 6th.

She thankfully had had no run-ins with the crazy Undersecretary after the first, though she had kept true to her word and had already sent out a Ministry-wide petition to rescind the half-breed restriction. It had not made its way back to the Auror department, but she had hopes that when it did, it would be filled to the brim.

It was Wednesday the fourth when she had heard news (this time it was just Ministry gossip) that Harry Potter had been expelled from Hogwarts, and then the expulsion had been repealed, and a trial date was set. She didn't know the full details, but she was sure that she would find them out at the next meeting.

On the morning of the sixth, Cory had decided that she was done living off stale cheerios, and had resolved to taking a shopping trip. Now, Cory couldn't make much, actually, she couldn't really do anything if it required more energy then heating it up in a microwave, so she settled with buying a bag of pre-made salad (just lettuce and sliced carrots, and some radishes, which she hated) and a rotisserie chicken…and another box of Cheerios, but in her defense, they were quite addicting. She bought a case of water as well, and a box of macaroni and cheese, thinking that she could at least attempt to make something worth eating.

After attempting to make the macaroni for lunch (and failing miserably) she decided to leave a little early to get to the meeting (and to escape the smell of burnt macaroni). She didn't even know it was possible to burn macaroni…until the pot caught fire. She apparated about two blocks away from Grimmauld, deciding to walk the remainder. She was about 15 minutes early, and she wanted the time to air out her clothes anyway. Thoughts of Regulus and her younger years crept upon her as she walked the familiar pathways that they had walked so often as teenagers. Regulus never had the same aversion to muggles as his mother had, so they would often sneak away from the house in favor of heading up to the nearest cinema, which she knew to be about 5 blocks away from his house.

All too soon she found herself standing on the doorstep of number 12. She rang the doorbell (opting to avoid having her jugular displaced by Moody's wand) and waited patiently (as always) for someone to answer. To her pleasure, it was Molly who beckoned her in, before closing the door quickly.

"How lovely it is to see you again dear. How have you been? You're looking a bit thin, have you been eating alright?" She fussed over the girl as she dragged her into the kitchen. To her surprise, she found five sets of red hair and one large brown bush surrounding the dining table, all staring at her with amusement.

"As alright as I can be, I guess. I'm absolutely dreadful at cooking anything, so it's mostly been deli sandwiches…and Cheerios." She looked down. The brown bush was the only one who seemed to know what Cheerios were, as it let out a slight giggle at the thought.

"What are those dear? And you must come around for dinners then at least. We can't have you falling ill because you can't handle a spatula." She tutted before setting a kettle on the stove.

"Would you like tea, dear?" She asked before Cory had the chance to respond to her last question.

"Oh, no thank you. I've decided I'm not much for the stuff after all. It was nice when I was younger, but I suppose it's more of an acquired taste that I've lost over the years." She replied with a soft smile.

"Well if you're sure dear. How about you lot? Tea, anyone?" All six of the people nodded. As Cory got a closer look, she saw that she only knew four, Bill and Charlie (who were in the Order), and the two twins (Greg and Francis?) who had made of show of Moody's capture of her. The other red-head must have been a Weasley as well, because he greatly resembled the others, and the brown bush was actually a girl who looked to be about the youngest Weasley's age.

"So when's the meeting exactly?" She asked Molly quietly as she passed by, pouring tea for everyone. She knew that Dumbledore was trying to keep the Order on the down low, and she didn't know how much the other two kids knew.

"As soon as the guard comes from retrieving Harry." She said aloud. Obviously everyone knew what the Order was then.

"Wait…Harry's coming, today?" Cory asked incredulously.

"Well, yes dear, you can't have expected us to leave him with the muggles until his trial?" She asked Cory as if she had grown five heads.

"Well, no. But now? And nobody told me? I could have gotten ready…or whatever." She finished lamely.

"Ready for what?" The brown haired girl asked curiously.

"Never you mind, Hermione. I'm sure Harry will tell you later." The girl named Hermione huffed, and Bill and Charlie looked at each other knowingly.

"They should be back shortly, anyway." Molly huffed as she sat down to sip her tea.

"Great." Cory rolled her eyes sarcastically before resting her chin on her hand.

"So, Ron, Hermione, this is Cory. Cory, this is our little brother Ron, and his best friend Hermione." Bill said conversationally, pointing to the other two.

"Nice to meet you guys." She said pleasantly. Ron nodded, not bothering to stop staring at her, while Hermione looked at her inquisitively.

"You're from America?"

"Erm…yes. Well…no. I'm from here, but I lived in America for the past 14 years." She looked away.

"So why are you back?" She asked a bit forcefully.

"Excuse me?" She looked taken aback.

"Why are you back? I mean, why are you fighting if you could have stayed in America?" She rephrased her question, but didn't drop her blunt tone.

"I wasn't going to let my friends get trampled over by some crazy man just because he's bent on taking over the world." She replied, just as blunt. Ron began to choke on his tea, but was interrupted by a new voice.

"That's funny, Corny. Considering all of your supposed friends are fighting for the other side." She looked up in surprise to see Sirius standing in the entrance way of the kitchen.

"It's also funny how of the three marauders left, one of them is _also_ fighting for that same side. Hmm…sounds exactly like my predicament doesn't it? The best friend, dead, one on our side, and one a Death Eater. Obviously us Slytherins are just like you Gryffindors." She glared as she stood to face him.

They matched each other in height, and after Sirius' 12 years in Azkaban, Cory now had more meat and muscle on her bones then he did, giving her the intimidation factor.

"Don't talk about James like that." He growled fiercely.

"What, don't care about your brother?" She matched his tone.

"Don't care about yours?" He whispered menacingly. She drew back as if she had been stung.

"You don't know what you're talking about." Her aggressive tone returned, full force.

"Oh, don't I? I'm sorry; I was just under the impression that I was his best friend!" He yelled.

"He's the one who didn't care about me! There's a reason I'm no longer apart of the family, Black!" She shouted.

"He did too care! It was just after your parents died that--" She cut him off with a glare.

"Don't you _ever_ talk about my parents, _Black_." She growled.

"Now really. Can you two ever be in the same room without tearing each other throats out?" Molly stood between them once again, tutting angrily.

"No." They both glared at each other again before they sat at opposite ends of the dining table. The kids (apart from Bill and Charlie who had witnessed the incident of the last meeting) were staring wide-eyed at the two adults.

Sirius looked about ready to open his mouth when the doorbell rang. Molly gave the two a fierce glare before stalking off to answer it. The tension in the air was thick, and Ron coughed a little to try and relieve it.

"So…erm. Cory, what is it that you do?" He asked delicately, as if waiting for her to explode.

"I'm an Auror, Ron." She smiled pleasantly before turning her sugary sweet smile on Sirius.

"At least I made it that far." She taunted. Sirius leapt up from the table, ready to pounce when Molly walked back in, this time surrounded by loads of Order members. Cory craned her neck to try and spot her nephew, but couldn't find him underneath the taller adults.

"Really, do we need to separate you two?" She asked exasperatedly as Sirius settled back down, before jumping up again.

"Harry!" He shouted, breaking through the guard. She could hear the muffled reunion, before Remus spoke.

"Were they fighting again?" He glared hard at Cory, causing her to raise an eyebrow. She had never taken Lupin seriously, even in Hogwarts, and she saw no reason as to why she had to now.

"Yes, over who cared least about their brothers." She huffed. It was Remus' turn to raise his eyebrow as he looked at his enemy.

"Why?" He asked incredulously.

"Why not? It's Black, he's the idiot." She huffed before standing up.

"I assume we're in the drawing room then?" She made her way out of the kitchen, barely taking the time to kick Sirius' protruding foot as he attempted to trip her.

"Nice try, Black." She called back with a smile. She could faintly hear Harry asking who she was, and Sirius told him that he would tell him later.

Most of the Order was already gathered in the Drawing Room when she arrived. They were waiting on the Weasleys, Remus, and Sirius to enter, and when they did, Dumbledore began the meeting.

"We have intelligence that Voldemort is actively recruiting, so it is time we step up our efforts. Cory, how willing to you think the Americans are to get involved?" Dumbledore directed the question at the unsuspecting girl. She looked up with a start.

"Um…probably not very willing. Unlike the muggle government, the wizarding government has recently taken up an isolationist policy. We--They are trying to avoid international conflict, especially after the great loss in the War against Grindelwald." She looked deep in thought as she tried to think of whether or not she could convince the American government to join forces.

"Would you be willing to try?" He asked quietly.

"Well, of course I'll try, I just can't promise the results you're looking for, is all." She said quietly.

"Great, onto our next order of business. This week's guard schedule for the Department of Mysteries is up and congratulations to the guard for successfully retrieving Harry from his muggle home." The guard looked around with pride as the rest of the Order clapped for them.

"Charlie, I would like you to start recruiting when you return to Romania." The second eldest Weasley nodded in conformation.

"And to all Ministry members, keep an eye on any on-goings in the Ministry. Watch for corruption, and most of all, beware of being found out. Azkaban is the punishment for vigilante groups, and we need to be _extra_ cautious in these trying times." He looked around with seriousness to all of the rooms occupants.

"That is all; the date of the next meeting is loosely set for this time next Saturday. Please stay safe until then." He said quietly as the room got up, checked the Guard schedule, and left.

Cory noted that she would be guarding on the coming Monday, before Dumbledore pulled her aside.

"What do you know about the prophecy of the Chosen one?" He asked quietly.

"Oh, you mean the one about Harry?" She asked with surprise.

"Yes. Who told you?" He asked quietly.

"Um…right after Severus said he was joining the Order, he told me about what he saw." She averted her eyes quietly, thinking of that conversation.

"So you don't know the end of it?" She shook her head.

"Harry has a power that the Dark Lord knows not." He looked at her thoughtfully.

"Does he know?"

"Not yet."

"Are you planning on telling him?" She practically shouted. "We went over this last time; Harry doesn't do well with being kept in the dark."

"I know, and I will tell him, soon enough." He said quietly.

"Well…well, good." She huffed before turning on her heel.

"I'll see you next week then?" Dumbledore asked.

"Obviously." She retorted before stomping out of the room.

She made her way back to the kitchen, and was surprised to see two things. One was a head of stringy, greasy hair that she knew and loved, and the other was Sirius standing in the same room, not taunting or teasing the stringy head of hair that she loved.

She pulled out her wand quietly, an idea forming in her head.

"Blue!" A green jet of light shot out of her wand. It hit the back of the stringy head of hair easily, before the hair was suddenly waist long. He turned around in surprise, his lip curling upwards in a characteristic sneer.

"Orange!" A yellow light shot from his as Cory ducked to avoid what she was certain was a strong version of the tickling hex.

"Red!" An orange jet of light followed his as he jumped out of the way of the stinging hex.

"Black!" Red quickly flowed from his wand as she narrowly avoided the stunning charm.

"One!" A black jet flowed quickly. He cast a shield charm and it rebounded halfway, before meeting hers. It bounced between the two, before it slowly decapitated into thin air.

"DONE!" Her scream was just a half second faster than his before she shrieked with joy and tackled him to the ground.

"Failure!" She laughed happily as she hugged her old friend tight. Sev laughed aloud as well before he shoved her off, causing her to land with a heap on the floor.

"Ow! Jerk!" She groaned, nursing her elbow, as she stood. She held out a hand to her old friend who pulled himself up, before she pulled him into another hug, a real one this time.

"Long time no see!" She exclaimed when they parted.

"Yeah! Last time I saw you was Christmas of what…87?" He asked thoughtfully.

"Yeah, I got Drake that stuffed dragon that set the tree on fire!" She laughed at the memory.

"Oh, Cissy was in a fuss for ages after that." His black eyes twinkled reminiscently.

"Um…what was that?" She turned in surprise to see the kitchen full of wide-eyed Weasleys, Sirius, Remus, Hermione, and one boy who looked far too much like her brother to not be Harry. Hermione slapped Fred over the head angrily, muttering something about tact.

"That was two Slytherins getting their fun out of dueling, surprise, surprise." Sirius muttered angrily as he leaned against the wall. Sev slinked an arm around her waist, discreetly preventing her from pouncing.

"Says _you_ who got your kicks out of levitating first years by their ankles." She huffed. Sev tightened his hold on his best friend.

"At least I didn't serve the Dark Lord." He taunted. Cory didn't know who the comment was directed to, but snarled out before Severus could respond.

"At least I didn't spend 12 years in Azkaban because people _thought_ I did, stupid Black." She growled angrily.

"And I _never_ served that bloody bastard." Her British accent was peaking through a bit.

"Says _you_." He said pointedly. "A Slytherin who surrounded herself with Death Eaters in school. Everyone besides this…thing--" He pointed disgustedly at Severus "--has either ended up dead or in Azkaban. Unless you count Malfoy, who should very well _be_ in Azkaban."

"At least he had the amount of cunning it takes to _avoid_ incarceration, unlike some." She said bluntly.

"Why didn't you serve the Dark Lord anyway? Were you too much of a coward?" He prodded, ignoring her last statement.

"Oh yes, I'm a coward, which is exactly why I'm choosing to fight him now. In case you _forgot_, Black. I was an Auror during the First War, I fought every fucking day. And what did you do? Laze about in a broom-shop all day, and working nights for the Order. _Real_ productive." She growled. Sirius snarled at her and yanked out his wand. She met his in a flash, sparks flying from both pieces of wood.

"I could make you lunch meat so fast, you won't even know what happened." She threatened. Sirius laughed.

"That's funny, considering you can't even make toast without turning it black."

"I don't need to turn it black; you've already got that part down. What with your horrid soul and all." She ground out.

"You couldn't take me if you tried." Sirius provoked.

"Wanna bet? I could apprehend you without a wand." She taunted. A golden beam shot from his wand, and she let him take it from her.

"Let's see it then." She took one threatening step forward, and he sent a stunner at her. She rolled forward, avoiding the beam, before landing her foot into his shin. He hopped on one foot, nursing his injured leg.

She rolled over her shoulder and stood, before swiping her leg under his other one, causing him to land flat on his back. She kicked his ribs slightly, causing him to curl up, before she swiftly bent down and held his hands behind his back. She lifted him up easily and shoved him against the nearest wall.

"Now, should I take this piece of filth to Azkaban? What are the crimes _now_, hmm? Let's see, escape from Azkaban, spending two years on the run, attempted murder of a Hogwarts student, trespassing on school property countless times, and assaulting an Auror." She leaned in towards his ear, but said it loud enough so that the occupants of the room could hear her.

"Let him go!" Came a shout. She turned around in surprise to see the younger version of her brother standing before her. It took her a moment to regain composure at the shock of seeing him.

"Really, Cory, don't you think this is a _bit_ immature?" Remus asked as she let Sirius go. He massaged his ribs tenderly before shoving her out of the way. She kicked his leg and grabbed her wand.

"He started it!" She exclaimed. Severus came to stand beside her before glaring menacingly around the room.

"Really, Lupin, keep the mutt under control." He said coolly.

"Shut up, Snape." Came two voices, one was her own, and the other belonging to Sirius. Sev looked at her in surprise. She shrugged.

"Why do you two hate each other anyway?" Fred asked loudly. The boy obviously had no tact, as Hermione once again took a swing at his head.

"Who? Me and Snape?" Sirius asked loudly.

"No, you and _Cory_." He said as if it was obvious. _Which it was, idiot._ Cory thought with disgust.

"Well let's see, she's a Slytherin, she's friends with every Death Eater alive--"

"--Lies--" Cory cut in.

"--My family loved her far too much--"

"--Just like my family loved _you_ far too much--" she said angrily.

"--And she betrayed my best friend." He finished with a growl.

"Oh no, you're thinking of that slime Pettigrew." She said bitterly.

"Like you care! You didn't give a damn about James!" Sirius shouted.

"You don't know a bloody thing! At least I cared enough about my brother _and_ yours!" She shouted.

"My brother was Death Eater scum!" He shouted ferociously.

"Your brother was a good man! Much better than _you_ are, anyway." She huffed.

"Enough! I will not have you two constantly fighting in front of the children!" Molly shouted angrily.

"Sorry, Molly." Cory looked shameful, as did Sirius.

"Wait, who was your brother?" This time it was George who lacked tact, as Hermione _and_ Ron took swings at him (which he expertly avoided).

"There's no way he was related to scum like you." Sirius said bitterly. Remus carefully nudged him in the ribs.

"Who?!" George pressed.

"James! James Potter! Sirius can't get over the fact that _I_, Slytherin _scum_ apparently, was related to such a kind and loving soul like him." Cory said impatiently.

"Wait, you're James Potter's sister?" Harry asked carefully, his eyes narrowing.

"Sadly." Sirius muttered.

"Shut UP BLACK!" She yelled loudly, causing all the occupants to jump.

"I am sick and tired of hearing your pathetic crap about me being related to James. Remember the first train ride to Hogwarts? Who did you talk to the entire time while James and Remus couldn't even make a sound?!" Remus looked uncomfortable at the mentioning of his name, while Sirius just shrugged indifferently.

"I didn't know you would grow up to be a Death Eater wannabe bitch."

"And I didn't know you would wind up being a washed up jackass who can't get over the fact that if it hadn't been for his stupid remarks, I would still be James' number one." She said angrily.

"What?" Harry asked quietly.

"Nothing, nothing that concerns anyone." She regained composure.

"So, Harry. You obviously weren't supposed to find out about me this way, but what's done is done. I realize this may be a lot to take in right now, and I apologize for the way this sorry excuse of a godfather acts." She threw a glare at Sirius before turning back to smile sweetly at her nephew.

"Why didn't anyone tell me though? I mean, Professor Lupin had the chance in third year! And I saw you all that time last year Sirius! Even Snape could have told me something! Why didn't you guys tell me anything?" He shouted. Hermione and Ron looked over at each other quietly, before wincing slightly. He rounded on them next.

"And did you two know as well? Was this just some great big prank on me?" He howled.

"Of course not Harry--" Hermione started, tears shining in her eyes.

"Harry, they didn't know who I was until just now. No one but the people in the Order knew who I was, and that was only until last week, so no one in here has had the opportunity to tell you besides Remus, Sirius, Sev and I." Cory stopped to take a breath, Harry watching her intently.

"Then why didn't anyone say anything?" He had stopped shouting, and now just looked severely hurt.

"No one told you because I was disowned before you were born. Sirius and Remus were never friends with me, and I'm sure it was a sore topic whenever I was brought up. I left Britain after James died and only came back once or twice to spend Christmas with my friends. I wouldn't be surprised if everyone but Sev forgot about me." She said truthfully. Harry searched her eyes for a moment.

"And you never thought to write, or anything? I mean, didn't you care, at…at all?" He asked quietly, the pain obvious in his voice.

"Of course I cared, kid. It's just, well…what could I do? There was no hope to get custody over you, because I'm technically not a part of the family anymore. And as for writing, well…I thought that if you were told when you got into Hogwarts, why would you want to hear from the Slytherin aunt? If you're anything like James then you hate every Slytherin because they wear green. Something he took from _this_ jack over here." She shoved her thumb in Sirius' direction, but Harry just shrugged her off.

"Oh, don't worry, he's _exactly_ like Potter." Severus spat out the name bitterly. Cory sent him a fake smile before stomping on his foot angrily.

"Don't talk about James like that." She reprimanded.

"Sorry…" He muttered.

"So you and Dad didn't get along then?" Harry asked sadly.

"We did up until our parents died, right after he married Evans. We both took it kind of bad, but James just stopped talking to me after that. Then he blasted me off that _stupid_ tapestry and wrote me out of his will." She murmured angrily.

"I'm sorry." Cory searched his emerald green eyes but only found honesty.

"It's not _your_ fault, it's that jerk Voldemort and his stupid slimy Death Eaters. But we'll get 'em back." She grinned at him. He smiled back weakly.

"Umm, do you think we could maybe, talk, sometime?" Harry asked awkwardly.

"Sure! I've heard loads of stories about you from Dumbledore. From the way he talks about you, I'm almost _positive_ you're James reincarnated. Except for those eyes…Those are definitely Evans' eyes, huh, Sev?" She pulled an unsuspecting Snape into the conversation.

"Yeah." He muttered gruffly.

"You knew Mum too?"

"Obviously…Well, yeah. We weren't really close though. She always did beat me in Potions." She sighed.

"I heard Mum was really smart." He said brightly.

"Oh, she was brilliant. As was James, he just didn't apply himself in any place except for Transfiguration…where he beat me too." She sighed again.

"The smart gene must skip a generation then, hmm?" Sev drawled. Harry (and the Weasley children) looked up at Severus sharply.

"Shut up, Sev." Cory rolled her eyes before winking at Harry. He laughed back, obviously over being kept in the dark.

His laugh sounded just like James'.

* * *

**A/N: So I don't know if I'll be updating everyday, I just love writing this story, so who knows? This chapter was over 5,000 words long, and over 14 pages, so yay! Thank you to all the people who reviewed, added their story to their favorites list, or signed up for alerts from me! Thanks to **_**Jokegirl **_**and **_**Being.You.Is.Enough.**_** for their reviews on the last chapter. Once again, please vote for Sirius/Cory or Remus/Cory pairings. You can either vote on my profile page, or leave a review, I don't care which! So Harry and Cory finally met. I don't know if Harry took it hard enough, but I feel like he was already screamed out from yelling at Hermione and Ron for keeping the Order from them, and I think he was just exhausted or whatever. Next chapter will be guard duty, the American Wizard President, some more Snape, Malfoys, etc…And maybe more confrontation between the remaining marauders and Cory? Sirius seems like a total jerk, but you'll understand why he hates her so much soon enough, I promise! Please leave reviews!!**

**-Shawn**


	5. Good Times, Gooood Times

**Story Title: Crimson and Clover**

**Chapter Title: Good Times, Gooood Times**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, Hogwarts, or anything from the books. I own Cory and any concepts, ideas, people or places that you may not have heard of, unless I say otherwise. The title comes from the song "Crimson and Clover" by Tommy James and the Shondells, though I originally got it from the song "A Praise Chorus" by Jimmy Eat World.**

**Warning: Might be some mild language again. I know its rated T because of it, but I like to warn people, just in case. **

**Story Summary: **_**Cornelia "Cory" Potter was never the perfect child, no, that was left up to her brother James. Her twin brother, James Potter, who was younger than her by a mere 7 minutes, but was still younger nevertheless, was always better than she was. Always the one who was slightly better at flying, the one with the wicked sense of humor, the one with the good looks, the one who could get away with everything, the **_**Gryffindor. **_**When the hat shouted out that Cory was destined to forever adorn the Slytherin crest on her robes, her life went down the tubes. Her parents still loved her, sure, but James never forgave her. After his death, she moved to America, but now that Voldemort is back, she's been called back to fight. And fight she will. A Slytherin never backs down from battle, no matter which side they're on, and Cory is ready to take on her old friends, while fighting alongside her old enemies. **_

* * *

_Cory slumped into the Slytherin common room with a sigh. She was tired, covered in mud, bruised, sore, and still had a truck load of homework to do before tomorrow._

_"What hippogriff hit _you_?" Came Severus' silky voice as she sat down on the couch with a groan._

_"Rogers graduated last year." Was her muffled reply as she closed her eyes._

_"That explains nothing." He pointed out._

_"That explains that today we had our first Quidditch practice, and our new captain was named." She explained, sitting up. Regulus had joined her on the couch, though the thirteen year old was writing furiously on a piece of parchment. _

_"Ah, and who was it?" Snape nodded in understanding._

_"Lucius Malfoy." She spat bitterly._

_"That bad?" Regulus looked up from his homework._

_"We don't even have a full team yet! It's first week of school and he's running us ragged!" She complained._

_"You play the sport." Snape pointed out once again._

_"Yeah, for fun! Not for torture!" _

_"Ya know…" An idea formed in Cory's head. "Travis and Bolt just graduated. Meaning that there is an open Chaser and Beater spot. Which my two best friends can coincidentally play!" She said happily. Regulus shrugged at the thought, but Snape scoffed._

_"So I can end up like you? I don't think so."  
_

_"Oh, come on! Quidditch is loads of fun!" She cried._

_"No, it seems like hell."_

_"Don't knock it till you try it!" She persuaded._

_"Finnneeeee." He groaned. Cory pumped her fist in the air._

* * *

_One month later it was time for the first Quidditch match of the season. Slytherin vs. Gryffindor. Severus and Regulus had made the team no problem and the Slytherins were pretty confident that they were going to win.__th__ year chaser, as well as captain. James was also a chaser, along with Longbottom's girlfriend, Alice Gregs. Sirius took the beater position, along with another boy whose name she did not know. A girl named Mary MacDonald was the seeker, and some frail looking kid hovered by the goal posts._

_That morning as they waited for the Quaffle to be released, Cory surveyed the Gryffindors. Frank Longbottom was a 7th year chaser, as well as captain. James was also a chaser, along with Longbottom's girlfriend, Alice Gregs. Sirius took the beater position, along with another boy whose name she did not know. A girl named Mary MacDonald was the seeker, and some frail looking kid hovered by the goal posts._

_This game would be a piece of cake._

_Lucius and Longbottom shook hands and within moments the Quaffle was in the air. As centers, both James and Cory battled it out, Cory taking the upper hand. She flew towards the goal posts and swung towards the left as hard as she could. Unfortunately the keeper saved it._

_For about 30 minutes, the game went on in similar fashion, though always locked in a stalemate. The score was 30-30, and the fans and teams were getting restless. Finally, Cory saw her breakaway. _

_Severus flanked her right side, with Troy Pucey on her left. She clutched the Quaffle under her arm and faked left, drawing the keeper aside. As soon as the keeper was close enough she launched the ball to Severus, who tail-whipped it into the goal. The Slytherins were back in the lead. As the keeper went to retrieve the Quaffle, Cory, Snape, and Troy shared a celebratory high five. They split again in an instant, just in time to notice Sirius Black was hovering not too far off. His bat looked as though it had just hit something._

_And then Cory saw it._

_Speeding towards her with great force was a bludger. She tried to roll out of the way, but it was too close, and knocked straight into her ribs. She heard multiple cracks, and instantly felt pain spread through her insides._

_She barely managed to clutch onto her broom as Severus and Troy immediately flew to her sides._

_"We need to get her to the ground before we do anything." Snape told Troy. The boy nodded, and Cory closed her eyes as she felt the boys maneuver her broomstick towards the ground. In the distance she could hear Hooch yelling at Black, before she blew her whistle, signaling a time out._

_Cory opened her eyes again._

"_Guys, I'm okay, really." She whispered. She clutched her stomach painfully, and blood was rapidly draining from her face._

_"Cory! That was a nasty hit; you need to get to the hospital wing." Lucius cried as the team circled around her. _

_Regulus looked murderous as he helped hold Cory up, who was in a slightly dazed state. Cory blinked forcefully before shaking her head._

_"We don't have a reserve, and you can't play a man down! We have a chance of winning, and we're not losing it just because of me!" She protested. Immediately the rest of the team let out their protests against her. She was the only girl, and sometimes the boys could get a bit protective._

_"Core, you look like your about to puke out shards of your own pelvis. This can't be good for you." David Flint said realistically as he shrugged his shoulders._

_"I feel fine, let's play." She glared daggers at the rest of the team._

_"If you're sure. Beaters, I don't want any bludgers hitting anyone else." Lucius said firmly as he ran a stressed hand through his shaggy blonde locks._

_"And Luce, catch that snitch fast." Severus and Regulus said simultaneously._

_"Will do." He nodded._

_They nodded to Madame Hooch, and suddenly the game was back in full force. _

_The Slytherins had gotten a boost of morale and had scored 50 more points in 10 minutes, 3 of which were scored by the injured Potter. _

_That isn't to say that she wasn't taking a beating, and there was nothing any of the others could do to stop it. Every chance they got, the other Gryffindors would slam into her, and elbow her stomach, jarring her already injured ribs. Bludgers had been coming dangerously close, forcing her to take tremendous dives, draining her already depleted energy. _

_Thirty minutes after the first time out, Lucius called another in haste. They circled once again, and all the faces looked at him, waiting for instruction. All the faces were flushed with fatigue except for Cory, who had turned paper white._

_"Core, we have to pull you out! They're trying to kill you!" Lucius started. He was met with nods from the rest of the team._

_"I already told you, I won't leave. Maybe if you'd catch the snitch we'd be okay." She growled._

_"Alright, no need to get feisty. Black, I want you marking her. She isn't up for any more hits." Lucius instructed. Regulus puffed up with importance and nodded._

_"I don't need a body guard." Cory whined, but was silenced under his icy glare._

_"I'll catch the snitch soon, but this has to end now." Lucius said fiercely._

_Across the pitch, the Gryffindor team had circled in a similar matter, listening to Frank prattle on._

_"Guys, keep gunning for Cory. She's injured, and she'll be out of the game in no time." The rest of the Gryffindors grinned, aside from James. _

_"You know, she could have broken a rib, and this might puncture a lung, or some other important organ." James protested. Sirius nudged him in the ribs, but Alice agreed._

_"Really, the aim of this game isn't to kill their players, Frank." She said softly. Frank ignored the two of them._

_"Take her down, Black. Forget about the other players, focus on her." He said conspiratorially. _

_Sirius swelled with pride at his job and nodded._

_"Let's end this, guys." _

_Both teams stuck their hands in the middle and cried out._

_"LIONS!"_

_"SNAKES!"_

_Cheers came from all ends of the stadium as the teams lined up again. Before he could get away, however, Cory flew by Regulus, her face still pale._

_"Leave me alone, or I knock you off your broom." She growled._

_"But! He said--" Regulus started to protest._

_"I don't care, like I said, I don't need protecting." She threatened before taking her spot._

_James looked across at her apologetically. _

_"It's a part of the game." She mouthed back. He shrugged his shoulders, before they both took off after the Quaffle. _

_They entered the stalemate once again, and after two hours, the game was still going on, and the sun was beginning to set._

_"Hurry up, Luce! It's getting dark!" Cory cried to Lucius as Sirius Black discreetly elbowed her in the side as he flew by. She doubled over in pain, and suddenly, Lucius shot off. Cory ignored him and focused on the game._

_"Core!" Troy shouted as he tossed her the Quaffle. She launched it into the center hoops, grinning as the keeper missed it. The crowed erupted in cheers and boos. She turned her head. There was Lucius Malfoy, with a golden snitch in his hands, his face glowing with pride. _

_Suddenly there was a gasp. Cory turned around in alarm. Sirius flew by, beater bat in hand, and swung. Hard._

_Her ribs took the final beating before she collapsed against the nose of her broom, sending her in a spiral downward. _

_She could feel liquid seeping from her mouth as she gasped for breath._

_Suddenly, there was darkness._

* * *

Monday night came swiftly after the meeting on Saturday. Kingsley had come by her office that morning to remind her of her guard duty that night. He also slipped her an invisibility cloak and told her the standard procedure.

At the end of her shift she would floo home, but then discreetly floo back in, only this time she would be under her invisibility cloak and a disillusionment charm. Kingsley would be waiting in his floo, about to floo home, when she would show up right behind him. She would whisper into his ear that she was there, and quickly scramble out, allowing Kingsley to go home. Her guard shift was from 4:30 to midnight, and she wasn't looking forward to it.

As she walked out of her office, ready to go home, Kingsley gave her a very discreet nod, which she returned. She stood at one of the floo stations and quickly flooed home. As fast as she could she changed into all gray (as to match the stone walls of the Department of Mysteries) and disillusioned herself, before throwing the cloak over her. She flooed back into the fireplace where she knew Kingsley was, and landed right behind him. It was a tight fit.

"I'm leaving." She whispered breathlessly as she scrambled out. If Kingsley had heard her, he made no sign of showing, but instead just flooed away. She sighed and made her way to the lift, before it took her up to the Department of Mysteries.

After about two tries in the room of revolving doors, Cory made her way into the Hall of Prophecies. She walked to isle 97, where she knew the next guard would be waiting, and walked down a tiny bit. She sent two golden sparks into the air. That was the signal that the new person had come to relieve the previous guard.

After a few moments, red sparks followed, and Cory knew that she would be alone for the next six hours.

The time passed rather quickly (much to her surprise) as she spent most of the time thinking about the impending battles. While the thought of reliving the terror of the First War frightened her to no end, it gave her an intense sort of thrill. There was nothing she loved more than the heat of the battle after all.

Just as she was in the middle of running through old dueling techniques, gold sparks shot in front of her line of sight. She looked down at her watch disbelievingly to see that it was indeed 12:30 on the dot. She sent up the return signal and quickly exited the Hall of Prophecies before making her way out to the fireplaces. She quickly flooed home, and crawled into bed, ready to wake up 7 hours later.

Two weeks after her guard duty, Cory had managed to set up a meeting with the American President, Thomas Jenkins. Jenkins was an old friend from the East Coast Auror Division that Cory had worked for when she first arrived in America. She was looking forward to the visit, and not just because it was a chance to change the outcome of the war.

She apparated into the White Office of the American government building and walked purposefully up to the secretary's desk. The lobby was much like the lobby of her old office, empty and stone. The only difference was that this one held an authoritative air about it.

"I have a meeting with President Jenkins." She said gracefully as she smiled charmingly at the secretary. The secretary was old, and it was a well-known fact that she loved young adults who were polite and sweet.

"What's your name, sweetheart?" She asked pleasantly as she turned to her computer. Cory raised a soft eyebrow. The Ministry refused to innovate with muggle technology, while the Americans embraced it. It was interesting to see how different the two allies really were.

"Cory Potter," she smiled once again. "My meeting is scheduled at noon, so I'm a little early." She had the grace to blush as the secretary stared hard at her over her glasses.

"Yes, yes. He's waiting for you right now ma'am. If you just go up to floor three, he'll be waiting in his office." She nodded and thanks before turning to walk away.

The wizard president was a lot different from the muggle one. The security wasn't _nearly_ as tight for one, nor did the president get a fancy mansion or anything like that. On the contrary, all he got was two security officers (Aurors of course) a dingy office with a view of the wizarding quarter of Washington, DC, and a nice big pay raise.

Totally not worth all the effort.

Cory arrived outside of the White Office after a few seconds of waiting. She took a moment to compose herself before knocking on the door.

"Enter." Came a soft but firm voice from the inside. A small smile graced her lips. She had missed her old comrade.

"Mr. President. It's Cory Potter, sir. We spoke over the phone." She said formally as she entered the room. She was wearing her best wizard robes, along with a black skirt and white button up shirt with a black tie tied securely around her neck. It was common in American wizarding culture for both genders to wear ties on formal occasions.

"Oh stop with the formalities, Cory. I know who you are." The man said knowingly. It was Thomas Jenkins. He was still as tall as she remembered, standing at a towering 6'5". His dark brown hair was cut short and styled in a comb-over. Green eyes sparkled behind thick black-framed glasses, and he was also dressed in wizarding robes, with a white shirt and black pants on. His red tie hung loosely around his neck, as if having been pulled repeatedly in frustration.

"Can never be too sure, Mr. President." She answered with a grin. He threw her a sharp look before smiling again.

"Can I get you anything? Coffee, water?" He asked quietly as another secretary walked in.

"Oh, no thank you." Cory smiled delicately before seating herself in the comfy looking chair across from his desk.

"Okay, so I assume this visit isn't just so we can catch up on old times, am I right?" He leaned forward slightly, his hands clasped together on the desk in front of him, looking at Cory calculatingly.

"Yeah, you'd be right there, Tommy." Jenkins groaned at the name, but beckoned her to continue, "You remember when I first moved here? Britain had just come out of its First War?" She hesitated before starting, as if she was looking for the right words.

"Yeah, that's why you came into the force so quickly. You had already had all the proper training." He reminisced.

"Well, Voldemort, the Dark Lord, he's back." She averted her eyes, but she could picture Thomas rubbing his forehead stressfully. It was habit.

"That's…unfortunate." He said warily. "But what does this have to do with me?"

"I was wondering, well, not me. The Order of the Phoenix was _hoping_--" He cut her off.

"What's the 'Order of the Phoenix'?"

"It's this group of light-sided wizards who are bent on destroying Voldemort. It's led by Albus Dumbledore, a rebel group, if you will."

"And what were they hoping?" He asked, not impatiently, but as though expecting the worst.

"We were hoping that _maybe_ should it _come_ to the point where Britain needs outside assistance, _maybe_ the Americans could help?" She winced as she said the words, knowing that it was a losing battle.

"Cory, you know we just took up an isolationist policy." He rubbed his forehead again.

"I know, but people out there are dying already, Tom. And the damn Ministry isn't doing a thing about it! They won't even admit that Voldemort is back, they're too wrapped up in their own world, and the _stupid_ Death Eaters keep paying them off! The Ministry is _corrupt_, Tom. What we need now is some solid structure, and I can't do that alone." She fumed, leaning forward in her chair, waiting to rise.

"Cory, how would that make me look if we _just_ took up an isolationist policy, only to jump right in to another war that isn't even our responsibility?" He asked exasperatedly.

"So you would just let innocent people die?" She asked brokenly.

"As President of Wizarding America, it is _my_ duty to protect _my_ country first. I will not send _my_ men into _your_ battle, and let _innocent people die._" He said quietly, though his voice was still firm.

"I know, Tom. It's just…I don't know. Voldemort is gaining followers, and with it, momentum. By the time the Wizarding World even _admits_ that he's back, he'll have launched a full-scale war again. More people than last time are going to die. We need as much support as we can get." She sat back in her chair, defeated.

"I know this must be terribly hard on you, but you're welcome to return here at any time. There are job opportunities for you at every door, Cory. You just need to open them." He said solemnly as he stood. Cory followed his action and held her hand out.

"I can't let innocent people die." She said simply.

"I know." He nodded. They shook hands and smiled. Cory could see faint crows feet on Tom's face. She hesitated slightly, before pulling him into a hug.

"If I make it through this, I'll come back." She promised. Tom clutched her into the embrace.

"I'll hold you to that." He laughed as they parted.

"Nice talking to you again, man." She laughed, walking out the door.

"You too." He nodded.

* * *

"HARRY!!" Cory let out a shriek as she raced through the main entrance of Grimmauld Place. Her hair was disheveled, and dirt smudged her face some, but the wild look in her eyes gave the impression that she had just come from battle.

Two voices returned her call, along with thundering footsteps.

"What? What?! What is it?!" Harry asked frantically as he pounded down the stairs.

"GET THE FILTHY HALF-BREEDS OUT OF MY HOUSE!" Came a shriek from behind the curtain hanging in the hall, at the same time as Harry.

"Walburga…?" She whispered in wonder as she strode to the curtain.

"What's going on?" Black asked lazily from the kitchen threshold.

"Is that your _mother?"_ She asked in amazement as she stared at the curtain.

"BESMIRCHING MY FATHERS NAME!!" Cory visibly winced as the loud noise penetrated her ears.

"Yep, that's good ole mum. Forgot you hero-worshipped her." He mocked. Harry still looked confused as to why he was there.

Cory strode to the curtains and brushed them aside. There was a large canvas, with Walburga Black standing innocently in the frame.

"Why not take it down?" She asked Sirius quietly, ignoring his last remark.

"Batty woman but a permanent sticking charm on it." He said irritably.

"Bitch…" She whispered.

"Hello, Walburga." She said pleasantly, a mischievous glint shining in her hazel eyes.

"Is that Cornelia Potter?" Cory once again winced at the shrill voice.

"In all my shining gloryyy…" She grinned.

"GET THE BLOOD TRAITORS OUT OF MY HOUSE!!" She shrieked once again. Cory looked slightly appalled.

"Is that how you treat your only son's best friend?" She shook her head in mock disappointment.

"Have you tried a silencing charm?" She whispered to Sirius quietly.

"The only thing that shuts that woman up is the damned curtain." He growled. Cory huffed.

"It's quite the pity you died, Wally." She yawned. Before Walburga could respond, Cory firmly shut the curtains and walked into the kitchen.

"Um…okay." Harry followed, still looking confused.

"Oh, Harry! Sorry, forgot you were here!" She smiled sweetly.

"Uhh, what is it you wanted?" He asked uncertainly.

"Oh, I wanted to show you this!" It was then that Harry noticed that she held a thick book in her hands. She laid it out on the kitchen counter, and he caught a closer look at the cover.

"1st to 7th year, C&J Potter" Was written elegantly across the front. Below it were markings that he was sure came from his father, as well as his aunt.

Little things such as "Girls rule and boys DROOL" and "Quidditch!" and "Cory can go DIE!" littered the front, but gave the scrapbook a more familial touch.

"This is the scrapbook that James and I kept from all our years at Hogwarts." She smiled.

"James is the epic fail of the Potter name?" Harry laughed, motioning to one of the more prominent scrawl marks on the cover.

"James dyed my hair pink, the muggle way, so I stuck his underwear to the Quidditch goal posts near our house…with him still in them. Then I wrote that. I believe there's a picture in here somewhere." She bit her lip in concentration as she flipped through the pages. It was between 4th and 5th year.

About 20 pages in, she let out of shout of glee and pointed towards the moving photograph in excitement.

"There is your father, in all his shining glory!" She teased.

Harry looked at the boy, who looked remarkably like himself. He was hanging from the goal posts by his underwear, looking particularly forlorn. Sometimes his face would contort in pain, and others he would send funny faces at the camera. Once he even saw him flip his middle finger at it, which made the two of them erupt in laughter.

"Anyway, I just thought you might want to look at some of these pictures." She smiled softly at her nephew.

"Thank you." He said, his emerald eyes shining. "Can we look at them now? So that I have someone to tell the stories?" He grinned.

"Of course!" They sat down at the table and began to flip through them. Sometimes Harry would ask about funny pictures, and she would respond with a great story.

He asked about a particular one which had the marauders looking pissed…and green?

"Well, the thing about your father and his friends was that they liked to mass prank the Slytherins. So one day, me and Lucius Malfoy decided to retaliate. We snuck down to the kitchens and gave a skin dying potion to the elves to put into their food. All the Gryffindors turned green and silver, and we gave them a babbling potion too, which disrupted classes to no end." She wiped away the tears of mirth from her eyes as she reminisced fondly.

When they got to the last page, just as Harry was about to close the book, she stopped him.

"That's my favorite." She said sadly. It was a picture of the two Potters, hugging each other around the middle. James was dressed in a fancy tuxedo, a huge smile on his face, and she was wearing a pretty green halter dress, which sparkled in the sun. Her smile matched his perfectly.

"Even though this was supposed to be a scrapbook of our years at Hogwarts, James got married about two months after we graduated. This was a picture we took at the wedding. I'd never seen James _so_ happy as he was when he married your mother. She was wearing this gorgeous dress that fit her perfectly. It was white with a long train, and it was strapless and gorgeously amazing, and her veil was lined with lilies, and she was wearing almost no make-up. She stole the room that day." She reminisced, tears in her eyes.

"Yeah, I've seen a wedding picture of them. She looked beautiful." Harry said sadly. Cory looked at him, before slinging an arm around his shoulder and pulling him close.

"You are so much like both of them, you don't even know." She said quietly.

"What about me is like them?" He asked curiously as he leaned into her embrace.

"Your smile is Lily's, all the way. The way you care so much about others is hers too. You're loyal, like your dad. You get in trouble, but that's more the both of us than just James. You're the fearless Gryffindor, just like both of them. You're soft-spoken like Lily, but you're just as eager to get involved as James was. The only thing you got truly from me is your defensive skills. I hear you're dismal at Potions, which was Lily's forte, and you are okay at Transfiguration, which James ruled at. But your maturity, I don't know where that one came from. I assume it's from growing up in a world like the one we live in." She said sadly as she leaned her head atop of his.

"Cory?" He asked quietly. She hummed in response.

"Thanks." He said softly. Cory didn't respond, just nodded.

Unbeknownst to the both of them, were the six watching eyes standing in the kitchen doorway. Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and Severus Snape all looked on towards the scene with mixed emotions. Sirius was jealous of the relationship the two had formed, Remus was confused that the two were getting along, thinking that Harry would be like James and shun her for her Slytherin attitude. Severus looked hurt, though. He was losing his best friend to his enemy's son.

It wasn't fair.

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to update this, but I was just really busy! I feel like the Quidditch scene (from Cory's 4****th**** year) was a bit OOC for everyone, but people get competitive, and Sirius is a jerk to Cory. Please continue to vote in the poll on my profile page! And PLEASE review!! I love getting reviews! I dunno when I'll update next, but I'll try and do it soon. This was over 4,800 words, and 12 pages long, so be happy! :) And thanks to _Getupandgo_ and _Owl Emporium_ for their awesome reviews!!**

**-Shawn**


	6. Hear You Me, My Friend

**Story Title: Crimson and Clover**

**Chapter Title: Hear You Me, My Friend**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, Hogwarts, or anything from the books. I own Cory and any concepts, ideas, people or places that you may not have heard of, unless I say otherwise. The title comes from the song "Crimson and Clover" by Tommy James and the Shondells, though I originally got it from the song "A Praise Chorus" by Jimmy Eat World. Chapter title comes from Jimmy Eat World's song **_**Hear You Me**_**.**

**Warning: Might be some mild language again. I know its rated T because of it, but I like to warn people, just in case. **

**Story Summary: **_**Cornelia "Cory" Potter was never the perfect child, no, that was left up to her brother James. Her twin brother, James Potter, who was younger than her by a mere 7 minutes, but was still younger nevertheless, was always better than she was. Always the one who was slightly better at flying, the one with the wicked sense of humor, the one with the good looks, the one who could get away with everything, the **_**Gryffindor. **_**When the hat shouted out that Cory was destined to forever adorn the Slytherin crest on her robes, her life went down the tubes. Her parents still loved her, sure, but James never forgave her. After his death, she moved to America, but now that Voldemort is back, she's been called back to fight. And fight she will. A Slytherin never backs down from battle, no matter which side they're on, and Cory is ready to take on her old friends, while fighting alongside her old enemies. **_

**A/N: When you get to about the middle of this chapter, after the meeting, if you have the chance, you should listen to Jimmy Eat World's **_**Hear You Me**_** because it was my inspiration for this chapter. Thanks!**

* * *

_"Cory! Hey mate! How are you?" Regulus was the first person to assault Cory with questions as she entered Platform 9 ¾ on September 1__st__, the beginning of her 5__th__ year. James was walking beside her, pushing his trolley, and groaned audibly as Severus trailed behind the younger Slytherin. He only had a small problem with the younger Black, but couldn't stand "Snivellus Snape."_

_"Prefect? Dumbledore's gone and made _you_ prefect? Is he off his rocker?" Snape drawled as they met up with each other. James rolled his eyes and she could feel her father stiffen at her side. He was never too fond Slytherins._

_"It was me or Narcissa, really. Patsy Parkinson is an idiot and Casey McDonald only cares about make-up." She said with disgust, her nose crinkling._

_"I would have chosen Narcissa." Regulus muttered. Cory made no indication of hearing him, but it was only a few moments before she swung at his head, grinning as her hand made contact._

_"Cornelia!" Her mother reprimanded instantly. An innocent smile graced her features as she turned to look at the woman who gave birth to her._

_"I apologize mother, but he was being so very rude." She widened her eyes and pouted slightly, causing her mother to glare._

_"Are you going to introduce us to these fine young men, Cornelia?" She asked tightly. The two Potter women didn't really get along, Cory was far too much like her father, and their personalities just clashed._

_"Mum, Dad, this is Severus Snape and Regulus Black." She said dully, pointing at the two of them._

_"Sirius' younger brother? He's a fine young man." Her father beamed. Cory slapped a hand to her forehead as Regulus seethed silently beside her._

_"Thank you, sir." He grimaced._

_"So, I'm off to find my friends. See you lot later." James said distastefully to the two Slytherins, before smiling at his sister. He hugged his tearful mum good-bye and shook hands with his father before boarding the train._

_"That's my cue then. I've got to head off to the prefects carriage. I'll write tomorrow morning." She promised as she hugged her mother good-bye. _

_"Have a good year, sweet-heart. And stay out of trouble." Her father said lovingly as he pulled her into an embrace. They remained like that for a few moments, both of them discreetly wiping tears from their eyes._

_"I'll try, daddy. I love you." She smiled charmingly._

_"I love you too, baby. Now have fun!" He clapped her shoulder and sniffled slightly, causing her to giggle._

_"Alright!" And with that, the three best friends boarded the train._

_"I'll find a compartment with you, but then I have to go to the front for a bit, and then I have to patrol. I promise I'll be back in a few hours." She informed her two best friends as they made their way through the train. Towards the middle the finally came upon an empty compartment before they threw their stuff in. It took all of two seconds before Cory kicked them out so she could change._

_"How do I look?" She asked quietly. She had let down her now ear-length hair, which had gotten a little messed up, and had cleaned up her make-up a bit. She was dressed in her clean cut Slytherin robes, with her prefect pin stuck proudly on her chest._

_"Beautiful, as usual." Regulus said as if it were obvious. Severus only stared for a moment, before chuckling._

_"You cut your hair then?" _

_"Do you like it? I know it's a bit much, but I wanted a change, and its OWL year, I can't be focusing on my looks all the time." She said realistically as she nervously ran a hand through it._

_"Don't do that." Severus said bitterly. She stopped right away._

_"Does it look bad?" She asked wide-eyed._

_"You look like Potter." He spat. Cory recoiled instantly, a glare on her features._

_"I _am _a Potter." She growled._

_"I was just saying you looked like your brother when you did that." He said defensively._

_"Whatever. I'll see you lot later." She muttered before shoving past them._

_"Nice, mate." Regulus commented. Severus just punched him in the shoulder._

_"OI!"_

* * *

_Cory hadn't talked to Severus for the rest of the train ride, and ignored him all through the feast. When she came bounding down the steps the next morning with a smile on her face, he thought for sure he was forgiven. Those thoughts plummeted as she brushed past him and skipped out the door, before linking arms with Lucius Malfoy._

_It was during breakfast that it hit him._

_He had the insufferable urge to do something. _

_He couldn't figure out what it was, but his hand was just itching to do it._

_He tried to keep it focused by cutting his bacon into tiny bits, but that didn't do anything to alleviate the stress. _

_He glared down at the offending appendage._

_It twitched uncontrollably. _

_"Bloody--" His curse was silent as his hand lifted itself to his head._

_And ruffled his hair._

_"What the--"_

_"Nice hair, Snape." Lucius Malfoy cut him off with a smirk. Severus stared back in confusion. This time he lifted his hand again to feel his hair._

_It was soft._

_And short._

_And messy._

_"Well, Merlin, Snivelly, if you want to look like me, you'll have to do more then change your hair." An amused voice came from behind him._

Potter.

_"Potter, what did you do to me?" He turned around furiously as he whipped out his wand._

_"Slow down there, Snivellus. _I_ for once, didn't do anything. Though I must commend the comedic genius who did. It was excellent spellmanship." He said admiringly as his cronies chuckled behind him. _

_"Then who--" He was cut off for the third time that morning by a new voice._

_"It was me." All five heads turned to the new voice. Cory sat on the Slytherin table, her feet resting on the bench as she twirled her wand carelessly. Her demeanor seemed care-free, as did her dress. Her tie was undone, and hung about her neck, her hair was ruffled, but cute, her pin was crooked on her chest, and her shirt wasn't buttoned up all the way._

_She looked more like a Potter than ever. _

_"It was you?" Severus asked, his eyes shining with hurt._

_"Nice work, Corny. Even I have to admit that." Sirius Black laughed from behind the two. Cory paid him no heed as she walked up to Severus, staring him hard in the eye._

_"You said I looked like James." She said matter-of-factly. "Now you know how much of an insult that _really_ is." She smirked. She could hear James protest in the background, but ignored the other marauder as she leaned in close to Severus' face. Hard hazel eyes met cool black ones as she whispered in his ear._

_"Learned your lesson, mate?" She giggled._

_"Yeah, yeah. What's the counter?" He groaned as she pulled him down to sit next to her. The marauders moaned, realizing the show was over before they made their way back to the Gryffindor table._

_"It will wear off by dinner." She informed him before happily cutting into her pancakes._

_"Great." _

* * *

"The Americans won't offer us aid." Cory started, looking around the room at the hopeful faces of the Order. "As I said last time, they have recently adopted an isolationist policy and don't want to get involved in foreign affairs." She shrugged, looking disappointed, before Dumbledore motioned her to sit down

"And that is the last bit of business, so once again, check your guard schedules, and we'll keep you posted on the next meeting. Cory, if you wouldn't mind staying behind?" He asked as the rest of the Order stood and mingled for a moment, before exiting the room.

"What is it you wanted Headmaster?" She asked as she idly observed the room. She had had many opportunities to survey her once favored home away from home.

"Cory, I don't know if you are aware of a recently passed Ministry Law, but if I cannot find a Defense teacher before the start of term then the Ministry will provide one for me." He said tiredly.

"There are plenty of good Aurors that the Ministry could provide for the post." Cory responded, not really getting the point.

"But do you honestly think Fudge would provide us with an Auror when he can send in one of his more loyal workers?" He asked knowingly, his twinkle dimming.

Cory nodded in understanding. "Doubt it."

"Which is exactly why I need you." Cory tore her eyes from a spot on the floor to meet his.

"What?" She asked incredulously.

"I want you to teach Defense. I know you aren't happy with the Ministry right now, and at least at Hogwarts you can teach the younger generation to fight."

"You know how they say those who cannot do, teach? Yeah, well, I can definitely do, Dumbledore." She said bitterly.

"You know as well as I do that this is no longer our war to fight. Just as it was the first time around, this is the younger generation's battle, not ours." He said solemnly.

"I'll be here to fight it as long as I can." She said firmly.

"And how long will that be, Cory? You and Harry are the last descendants of one of the most powerful pure-blood lines. Do you really think Voldemort will allow you to survive long enough to see this war end?" His voice rose ever so slightly, but Cory didn't back down.

"I survived last time, didn't I?" She quirked an eyebrow menacingly.

"And did the rest of your family?" Cory drew back, feeling stung.

"Doesn't that just mean that I was meant to fight _this _war then? I've lost more in this war than most other people." She bit back.

"Cory, I'm not attacking you. I'm just saying that the students are going to be leading the front of this war, and they need to be prepared."

"Fine. I'll do it. But only because Harry needs to be able to fight, and who better to teach him than someone who's fought more Death Eaters than most?" She said proudly.

"Thank you, Cornelia. I don't think you know how much I appreciate this." He said kindly. Cory winced at the use of her full name.

"Oh, I do." She smiled cheekily before walking out of the Drawing Room.

To her surprise, Severus was standing outside the door, slinked against the wall, looking particularly bored.

"Aww, how sweet, you waited for me." She grinned. Severus scowled at her as he stood up.

"I had a suggestion. But what did Dumbledore want?" He asked curiously as they began to make their way towards the kitchen.

"Does this remind you at all of Hogwarts?" She laughed slightly.

"You mean the whole you being called after class to receive a detention while I waited for your sorry arse, thing?" He smirked.

"Yes, that thing." She said pointedly.

"Then, yes, it does seem very much like Hogwarts. But what did he want?" He asked impatiently, bouncing on the balls of his feet. She giggled.

"He wants me to teach Defense." She said curtly.

"No way?! You're going to be a teacher?!" He asked loudly, causing the kitchen's occupants to look at them in confusion. Cory blushed.

"Shut up!" She smacked his arm slightly.

"Dumbledore must be off his rocker then, letting _you_ teach." He teased as he nudged her.

"Yeah, he also let a great bat like _you_ teach so hush." She mocked.

"I actually have a reason to teach. I'm good at potions."

"And I'm an auror, which is the epitome of defense, where as Potions teacher is just something to do when you're not good enough to be the real thing. _Lily Evans_ was the real thing." She bragged.

"I wanted to teach." He protested quietly.

"That's a lie. I remember a certain someone telling me that children were the bane of his existence." She laughed.

"Why are you a teacher again? You'll scar your students with all your snide comments."

"Once again, says that great bat over here who teaches potions." She said pointedly.

"You're a great friend." He rolled his eyes.

"Seriously though, if he didn't find a professor, they'd have a Ministry appointed teacher. And we all know the Ministry is rubbish." She wrinkled her nose.

"Ah, well, its better an incompetent Auror than an incompetent Ministry official, I suppose." He joked.

"Who are you calling incompetent? I was responsible for a good percentage of Death Eater captures in my day." She looked affronted.

"In your day, being the key words." He winked.

"You're being very un-Sev like today. What's changed?" She asked conversationally as she sat at the counter.

"Sod off." He groaned, joining her.

"So I was thinking. We never had the chance to go through Reg's stuff after his death, and I don't think Walburga ever went through anything." He said after a few minutes of silence.

"Oh, that hadn't even crossed my mind." She said sadly.

"Would you be up to it?" He asked quietly.

"Sure. Let me go ask Sirius if anyone's gone through anything." She said softly, her mood dampened.

She searched through the different rooms of Grimmauld Place before she found Harry and Sirius in the living room. They were both sitting on the couch, talking quietly to each other. She sighed; it was good that Harry had someone in his life.

She cleared her throat quietly, causing both heads to whip around.

"Ummm…Sirius, mind if I ask you something real quick?" She stuttered quietly. Think of Reg always did this to her.

"Yeah, what do you need?" He asked impatiently.

"Uhh, well. You see, have you, ehm, have you cleared out Reg's old room?" She asked quickly.

"What? Regulus' room? No, no one's touched it, from what I'm aware of." He said bewildered.

"Uhmmm….Do you mind if me and Severus go and just look through it and stuff? I think it's time that both of us get that final closure, you know?" She said quietly, leaning against the threshold.

"It's been over 15 years, Corny. I'm sure you're over it by now." He said loftily, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, so you're over James then?" She asked pleasantly.

"That's different. James was like a brother to me." He stood angrily.

"What do you think Reg was to me? Chopped liver?!" She yelled.

"Whatever! Go do what you please." He snapped, before sitting back down again. Harry looked at the two tiredly and groaned. They were always fighting.

"Thank you." She clipped before stalking back to the kitchen.

"Let's go." She growled, dragging Sev by the arm as they made there way upstairs.

"You know I'm the first to commend you on fighting with Black, but don't you think you two ought to cool it?" He asked quietly as she dragged him down the hallway.

"Don't tell me I ought to cool it with him. He's a jackass, and you know it." She muttered ferociously as she came to a halt. Severus barely avoided crashing into her before they both turned to the door in front of them.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" She asked quietly, all traces of anger gone.

"We need this, don't we?" He asked uncertainly.

"Well, do we?" She matched his tone.

"Let's go." Ser decided before opening the door slowly.

The room was exactly the same as it had been the last time Cory saw it. The bed was still unmade; the green comforters were scrunched at the foot of it. A Holyhead Harpies poster hung on the left wall. His desk was as messy as always, papers littering the surface. His favorite pair of shoes were at the door of his closet. He never left the house without them. The only difference was the thick layer of dust that now coated every surface of the room.

"It hasn't changed a bit." Cory choked her voice thick with tears.

"It's almost as if he never left." Sev agreed his voice tight with emotion.

"Let's get on with it then." Cory said, before walking in purposefully.

"Core, this isn't something that we can just 'get on with'." Sev said his voice filled with understanding.

Cory ignored him and continued to look around the room in awe.

"I can't believe it's been 15 years." She whispered, distraught.

"We've moved on, Core. It's a part of life." Sev whispered back comfortingly. She stood in the middle of the room, tears pooling in her eyes. Severus acted in an instant, pulling her close to him as she wrapped her arms around him.

"It still hurts." She cried.

"And it won't ever stop. But time makes it better, I promise." He whispered.

"Come on then, let's look at this stuff. Regulus did always have the nicest things." She smiled slightly, tear tracks staining her face.

The two looked around for hours, exploring his wardrobe and old school trunk.

"I always did want his robes." Severus whispered fondly as he fingered the faded black garment.

"They were rather expensive for school robes." She commented.

"Always the best for a Black." His tone was not bitter and the smile on his face made Cory chuckle.

"Hey, look at this." She said in wonder as she explored Regulus' old desk. She had been sifting through the drawers, and came across two parchment envelopes. Both were marked elegantly in black ink on the front.

"What are they?" He asked curiously as he walked closer.

"Letters, addressed to you and I." She said quietly as she picked them up.

"I wonder why we never got them." He asked bewildered as he inspected the frayed parchment.

"He probably knew we would come back one day. Reg did have a way of knowing weird things." She recalled fondly, her eyes crinkling with a smile.

"Are you gonna read it now?"

"Nah, I think I'll do it later. Its 10:00, we should be heading home." She stood up and glanced around the room again.

"I can believe he's really gone." She choked, averting her eyes. Severus thought he saw the glint of a tear in her eyes.

"He's been gone for 15 years, Core. You've made it this far without him." He lifted her chin to look into her shining eyes. Tears began to fill over, obscuring her hazel orbs.

"I don't know how I did." She sobbed, falling to her knees. Severus' eyes widened in alarm as he bent to pick her up, pulling her close to him.

"Because you're strong, Core. You're a Potter." He told her. She choked on a cynical laugh.

"I ran away. That's cowardice." She said bitterly.

"You had every right to run away." He comforted.

"You stayed." She said pathetically.

"I had obligations here." He said sadly.

"So did I." She said desperately.

"You just lost the most important people in your life over the span of three years. I think all your obligations were lifted." He attempted to joke, but Cory's bitter smile showed that it hadn't worked.

"I still had you. I shouldn't have left you alone." She cried, a fresh wave of tears hitting her.

"I made it out just fine. And you did too." He said encouragingly.

"Will you ever forgive me?" She asked hopefully, standing up. She wiped away her tears.

"There's nothing to forgive." She looked about to protest, so he cut her off.

"But if it will make you feel better, I forgive you." He conceded.

"Thanks mate, for doing this with me." She smiled softly.

"Anything for you, Core." He responded delicately.

And with that the two apparated away.

* * *

That Monday Cory was emptying out her office. She had told the heads of her resignation, and was all set to move out. She was ready to leave the Ministry behind her. They were a bunch of fools anyway.

"What are those?" A stern voice came from behind Cory as she bent over her trunk. She leaped into the air in surprise and quickly stuffed the small sack behind her back. Her wide-eyes narrowed in relief and she sighed. It was only Malfoy.

"None of your business." She said snootily as she stuffed them into her bag.

"Dungbombs? Real mature, Potter." He drawled. He looked around the room with mild interest. "So you're finally leaving? I was wondering how long it would take. You hate the Ministry, after all."

"You know as well as I do that I'm going to teach at Hogwarts, Mr. Board of Governors." She teased as she slammed her trunk closed. She was ready to leave.

"Yes, well, I was wondering if you would like to come over for dinner tonight. Narcissa is _dying_ to see you again, and Draco could really spend some quality time with his Godmother…" He trailed off, giving her a look.

"Oh, of course I'll be there, you fool. I wouldn't miss it for the world. What are we having?" She asked with mock-delight as she shrunk her belongings.

"Whatever the house elves want to make?" It was more of a question then a response.

"Sounds good. I'll be there at 6." She smiled pleasantly before making her way to the floo center.

"See you, Cory." He said quietly as she spun away.

That girl was definitely a keeper.

* * *

"Aunt Core!" Was the first thing Cory heard as she flooed in to the Malfoy Manor that night. She looked up with a grin, only to be mauled by blonde hair.

"Draco!" She squealed in delight as they shared a hug.

"Aunt Cory, it's been ages since you last visited!" He looked and sounded like a boy on Christmas morning.

"Draco, please, act civilized." Narcissa muttered with disdain as she sent a sugary sweet smile to Cory. Cory returned it with grace.

"Sorry, Mother." He said respectfully before stepping back.

"Really, Cissy. Let the boy have a little fun, he's not even sixteen yet." Cory reprimanded as she greeted her old friend with a hug and air kiss.

"He has to uphold the Malfoy name." She said regally.

"Do you remember Lucius when _he_ was in fifth year?" She dead-panned.

"Good point." Narcissa smiled before bringing her into the house.

"So what brings you here, Aunt Cory?" Draco piped in as he followed behind the two women.

"I can't come see my Godson without having an ulterior motive?" She asked sarcastically.

"Slytherins always have ulterior motives." He countered.

"True. Your father asked me over. I'll be teaching Defense at Hogwarts this year, and he probably wanted us to have one last time to catch up before Christmas." She smiled.

"You'll be coming for Christmas then?" Lucius asked quietly as he joined the others in the dining room. They sat at the large table quietly. Cory and Draco sat across from each other while Lucius and Narcissa sat at the heads.

"Depends what's going on with you-know-what." She said cryptically as she took a small sip of her water.

Instantaneously, food appeared before them. Cory marveled at the different dishes. There was stew, chicken, pasta, salad, bread, steamed vegetables.

"I doubt anything like that will be going on." He matched her tone easily.

"Then yes, as of now, I do plan to spend Christmas here." She smiled again.

They were silent for a moment, and all you could hear was the clinking of silverware.

"So, Cory, you're teaching Defense this year?" Draco asked excitedly.

"Yeah, so get ready for the most exciting year of your life!" She shouted with glee.

"It's about time we had a good Defense teacher. The only one who was decent was that half-breed Lupin." He muttered with disgust.

"Draco, you shouldn't be prejudice against half-breeds." She reprimanded gently.

"But--" He began to protest, but Cory cut him off.

"I'm sure Remus Lupin would be a great person if he wasn't a Gryffindor. Werewolves are human 29 of the 30 days a month, and centaurs and vampires are just kind of cool and can kill you in an instant. So don't hold judgment against them." She laughed.

"Yes, Aunt Cory." He muttered quietly.

The rest of the night went on in a similar fashion, and soon it was time for Cory to leave.

"Do you really have to go?" Draco whined as he hugged her.

"Yeah, I'll see you in a few days though. And I'll see you lot at Christmas, then?" She directed the last part at Lucius and Narcissa.

"We can't wait." Narcissa responded, her voice barely concealing her sarcasm

"It was great seeing you again, Core." Lucius said gently as he hugged her. Cory saw Narcissa sneer over his shoulder, and couldn't help but wink conspiringly at her, causing her nostrils to flare angrily.

"Later, mate." She smiled, before entering the fireplace.

"Lucius, what is going on between you two?" Narcissa asked shrilly.

The last thing Cory saw was Lucius' wide-eyed frightened look.

She chuckled darkly.

* * *

**AN: So I don't know why I love writing this story so much, but I do. Was the part with Reg's room sad enough? Every time I imagine it, I get really sad, so I hope it worked out like I planned. Thanks for the awesome reviews last chapter from **_**getupandgo**_**, **_**Owl Emporium,**_ and _**Captain Speed-o**_** please review for this chapter and let me know what you think!**

**-Shawn**


	7. Let the Games Begin

**Story Title: Crimson and Clover**

**Chapter Title: Let the Games Begin…**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, Hogwarts, or anything from the books. I own Cory and any concepts, ideas, people or places that you may not have heard of, unless I say otherwise. The title comes from the song "Crimson and Clover" by Tommy James and the Shondells, though I originally got it from the song "A Praise Chorus" by Jimmy Eat World.**

**Warning: Might be some mild language again. I know its rated T because of it, but I like to warn people, just in case. **

**Story Summary: **_**Cornelia "Cory" Potter was never the perfect child, no, that was left up to her brother James. Her twin brother, James Potter, who was younger than her by a mere 7 minutes, but was still younger nevertheless, was always better than she was. Always the one who was slightly better at flying, the one with the wicked sense of humor, the one with the good looks, the one who could get away with everything, the **_**Gryffindor. **_**When the hat shouted out that Cory was destined to forever adorn the Slytherin crest on her robes, her life went down the tubes. Her parents still loved her, sure, but James never forgave her. After his death, she moved to America, but now that Voldemort is back, she's been called back to fight. And fight she will. A Slytherin never backs down from battle, no matter which side they're on, and Cory is ready to take on her old friends, while fighting alongside her old enemies. **_

* * *

_"I'm never going to get this." Narcissa groaned to Cory as she slammed her Defense book shut. Cory was scribbling away on a piece of parchment, and didn't look up at the sudden noise._

_"You're probably right." She said unsympathetically as she furiously crossed out words._

_"Thanks, you're real supportive." She said sarcastically. The two 6__th__ years were lying in their dorm room with different books scattered around them. Cory had scrolls of written-on parchment next to her, while Narcissa was still starting on her first roll._

_"Well, non-verbal magic is quite difficult. Especially if we're going to be using them in a duel. I read in this book that it's all about technique really. Which makes sense. That's what dueling is you know, technique." Cory still refused to look away from her parchment as she copied down notes._

_"What are you writing anyway? We don't have an essay due." She asked irritably._

_"I'm taking notes on the properties of different spells." She said as if it were obvious._

_"What?" Came Narcissa's blank response._

_"Well, dueling is all about knowing what to avoid. For example, if you've got a Cruciatus Curse coming at your head, or a cutting curse coming at your feet, what are you going to do? You can't duck, because you'll take the cutting curse to your stomach, and possibly damage internal organs. At the same time, you can't jump because you'll take the Cruciatus Curse, and no one likes that. You can, however, throw up a full-body shield, and duck away from the Cruciatus Curse, since it can't be blocked." She explained._

_"What does that have to do with spell properties?" She asked clueless._

_"Well, if you can't hear what a person's saying, how do you know if it's a Cruciatus Curse? You wouldn't know whether to duck or jump or shield. By knowing the properties, you can tell the color, transparency, and other things that will help you distinguish the differences._

_"Like for instance, the stunning hex is red, while furnuculus is green, so in the case that you can't produce a shield, you duck out of the way of the stunner, and take the furnuculus hex, because _that_ won't cause you to lose a duel." She finished, finally looking up at her friend._

_"I lost you." She said blankly. Cory grunted and got up._

_"I'm going to finish this with someone who holds an ounce of intelligence." She snapped before she walked out of the room. Narcissa rolled her eyes behind her, but let her go._

_"Sevvvvv." She drew out her friends name as she proceeded to the common room._

_"Coorrrreeee." He mimicked her. He had his Potions book out, which he was scribbling away in._

_"Narcissa is being obnoxious. She doesn't understand non-verbal spells." She whined as she sat down next to Regulus who was sitting in a couch opposite Severus. He too was looking into his Potions book, but his lacked the worn-out quality that Severus' had._

_"Oooh! Non-verbal spells! Can you teach me?" He asked eagerly. Severus rolled his eyes._

_"She doesn't understand the point of understanding the properties of a spell." Cory ignored Regulus as she complained to Severus._

_"So make it into something she'll understand." He said as if it were obvious._

_"You want me to turn make-up into spells?" She asked bluntly._

_"No…just, I dunno, make a game out of it or something." He trailed off, looking uncomfortable._

_"Yes! Let's make a game!" She bounced up and down in her seat excitedly._

_And so the Slytherin trio stuck their heads together._

* * *

_"I don't get it." Regulus complained as Cory and Severus faced each other in the middle of the common room, wands at the ready. The three had managed to move all the contents of the room to the sides of the wall, leaving a wide circle in the middle of the room. Most of the upperclassmen were seated in the old furniture._

_"Ready?" Cory asked, ignoring her younger friend. Severus nodded and the two turned around, walking ten paces from the center._

_"Basically, Cory and I have come up with a little game to help us understand, use, and effectively defend non-verbal spells." Severus started._

_"It's a mock duel. You start out as you normally would, but the first person to go calls out a random color, instead of a spell." Cory continued. _

_"So Cory would call out a random color, like blue, but she would send a different colored spell. Like she could send a stunning hex, which is red." Cory demonstrated this, but purposely aimed for the wall next to Severus._

_"So the first color to be _sent_ out was red. Snape would then call out another random color, and send another random spell, which isn't the same color." Snape followed her words, calling out 'purple' but sent out a green charm, which Cory ducked away from._

_"Then it gets to be a little more challenging. See, Sev just sent a green colored charm. So now, I have to call out the color green, but send another colored charm." Cory sent Severus a pink tickling hex._

_"And now I'd call out 'pink' but send her some other color." Severus continued._

_"This goes on for a little bit, until one of us can't come up with another spell. You can't say or spell another color more than once, so after you've exhausted all your other options you scream out the word 'one.'"_

_"This lets your opponent know that there is one spell left to be cast. This can be any spell, but you cannot duck away from it. You must let it disappear with the use of consecutive shield charms."_

_"Once the spell falls away into nothingness, the first person to scream out 'done' wins." Cory finished with a grin._

_"So now, we'll show you." Severus matched her grin. The two bowed and got into their defensive positions._

_"Green!" Cory shouted. A purple jet of light flew from her wand which Severus ducked to avoid._

_"Red!" An orange light came from his, which Cory rolled away from in the nick of time._

_"Orange!" A yellow light._

_"Yellow!" A pink light._

_"Pink!" A blue light._

_"Blue!" A black light._

_"Black!" A green light came from Cory's wand._

_"One!" A maroon color seeped from Severus' wand. Cory shot up a shield charm, which Sev met easily. The spell bounced in between the two for quite a while._

_"DONE!" Severus shouted first, though Cory was only a millisecond behind him. By the end, the two friends were breathing heavily. They shook hands and congratulated one another before looking to their audience. The entire contents of the common room were staring entranced by the pair._

_"Let the games begin." Regulus said mischievously._

_

* * *

_By Tuesday, August 30, Cory had cleared out her flat and taken up residency at Grimmauld Place. Since she would be teaching at Hogwarts, she decided to rent it out for the year, knowing that because of the jinxed position, she would probably be back anyway.

So on Wednesday, Cory could be found shooting cleaning spells around her newly acquired room, which was right across the hall from Regulus' room.

That night, there was a commotion going on in the kitchen. Cory had been cooped up in her room all day, trying to write up lesson plans, but when she heard the noise, she couldn't resist going to check it out. It was in the Potter genes.

She walked casually down the stairs and arrived to see a good amount of people having what looked like a party in the kitchen. She pouted. Why hadn't she been invited?

"Core!" She heard Harry's voice shout amongst the throng of people. His small frame was carefully maneuvering its way around the larger Order members. She laughed.

"Hey, Harry. What's going on?" She asked curiously as he led her over to the counter where the food was. He proceeded to pile her plate while she gazed around at the gathering.

"Ron and Hermione were named prefects." He said his voice only slightly bitter. Cory laughed again.

"Oh, were they? That's good then. You'll be able to get away with _loads_ more now." She winked.

"No, I don't think so. Hermione is bound to take this seriously." He said glumly.

"Well, of course she is. She reminds me of Lily. Your mum was _so_ serious about being prefect. We patrolled together once and accidentally stumbled on Sirius in a broom closet with a Hufflepuff girl. I was laughing in the corner while Evans tore him a new one." She smiled. It hadn't taken her long to see that Harry loved hearing about his parents, so she tried to talk about them as often as she could.

"Was my dad a prefect?" He asked curiously as she took a small nibble of her chicken. She immediately started choking, causing Harry to smack her back in alarm. After she regained use of her lungs, she laughed loudly.

"Oh goodness, Harry. Of course your father wasn't a prefect. Remus was though, not that it did him any good. Those boys still got away with murder." She said bitterly, a dark look coming across her face.

"Yeah, I didn't reckon that Dumbledore would put him or Sirius in a position of power." Harry chuckled.

"Oh well, don't worry, Dumbledore was definitely off his rocker when I was at school. First mistake he made was making me a prefect. Yeah, that was stupid, because pranks from the Slytherins increased by about 80000. Then he goes and makes your father _Head Boy._ Why, I don't know. But that was a bad year." She shuddered for emphasis.

"My dad was Head Boy?" He asked in wonder.

"Well, yeah. I reckon it's because he matured a lot in between the summer of 6th and 7th year. We had been a part of the Diagon Alley massacre, and it shook James to the core." She thought back with a wince.

"A massacre?" His eyes widened in horror.

"The war was bad back then. People losing friends and families left and right. That's why it's so important that we stop him now, Harry. Because if it ever gets to that point again, I don't know if we'll be strong enough to survive it." The mood suddenly became serious between the two, as Cory bowed her head in remembrance.

"Molly, do you mind going up and getting rid of a boggart upstairs?" A voice called out to the Weasley matriarch. She huffed, but nodded anyway. Cory grimaced.

"I hate boggarts."

"Mine's a dementor." Harry offered.

"I don't really know what mine is anymore. The last time I saw one was when I was 18 and clearing out my grandpa's old mansion. It was a king cobra." She winced.

"You're a Slytherin who's afraid of snakes?" Harry asked skeptically.

"Was, Harry. I _was_ a Slytherin who _was_ afraid of snakes." She grinned before standing up and making her way upstairs. Dark creatures were fun to mess with (just look at Lupin) and she needed a little pick-me-up.

Just as she had arrived on the upper landing she heard a sob and a moan, and burst into a run. From what she could tell she was on the First Floor Drawing Room. She sprinted past the corner, and barely managed to catch the wall to hold her in place.

She stared at the ground, wide-eyed.

"No…" Mrs. Weasley moaned. "Riddikulus." The twins were lying dead on the floor.

The breath that was in her lungs was quickly forced out as she stared unblinkingly.

"Riddikulus." _CRACK._ Another red-head boy replaced the twins.

"Riddikulus…" _CRACK_. Mrs. Weasley was giving up. But what Cory saw next really got her. It was Harry, lying dead on the ground. The rational side of her brain told her that Harry was safe downstairs, but she couldn't shake off the eerie feeling.

He looked far too much like James had when he…when he...

"Mrs. Weasley, I've got it." She cleared her throat and pushed the elderly woman aside, drawing her wand. The boggart gave another loud crack.

She was idly aware that an audience had congregated outside the room, but she paid them no attention.

For what she saw was far different then a King Cobra.

It was her brother, James.

He was standing there in the outfit which she had last seen him in, on the day of his death. He was wearing blue jeans and a white button up, with a maroon sweater over it. His glasses were poised on his nose, and his hair was tousled in the same way that it always was.

Her breathing hitched.

"It was you." The fake-James spoke venomously. Cory narrowed her eyes.

"What was me?"

"It's your fault I'm dead." James glared at her fiercely, causing her to shrink back slightly. James was always her weakness.

"No it's not. It's Voldemort's." She whimpered.

"If you hadn't worked for him, none of this would have happened." He spat.

"I didn't work for him, Jamie. It was Peter Pettigrew!" She whispered.

"You should have offered to be my secret keeper! You should have died instead of me!" He growled.

"You're the one who disowned _me_, remember?" She gathered her wits quickly and stood straight up. The sibling's eyes met each others perfectly.

"It's your own fault." The boggart bit back coolly.

"How's this then?" She sent a _Riddikulus_ at it, which caused half its head to shave off, showing a heart shaped birth mark that only the Potter's knew James had.

He disappeared with a _CRACK_, only to be replaced by a man that Cory hadn't seen in over 14 years.

Lord Voldemort.

He was pale, extremely so, with glowing red eyes, and smooth dark hair. He had long fingers and limbs, and there was only a slight shred of humanity left in him.

"So we meet again." He whispered in his high pitched voice. Cory stood, confused. She wasn't afraid of Voldemort…was she?

"Yeah, so it seems." She answered uncertainly.

"You won't make it out of here in tact." He smiled. It was disgusting.

"I fully intend to." She whispered coolly.

"Oh, you'll live. But your precious nephew won't. I'm going to kill him and make you watch. Then you'll be begging to join me." He reached out to touch her, but she batted him down.

"Over my dead body." She growled.

"So be it." The boggart raised its wand. "Ava--"

"RIDDIKULUS!" She cried. Voldemort's wizarding robes were soon replaced by a pink tutu and his hair was littered with frilly bows.

"Take that, Voldemort!" She cried, punching the air. The boggart cracked again before disappearing.

Cory glanced at the door. Harry, Sirius, and Remus all stood wide-eyed. Molly was still sobbing into Arthur's shoulder, and Moody looked as indifferent as ever.

"Was that my dad?" Harry asked his face as pale as Nearly-Headless Nick's.

"No, your dad wasn't that mean and obnoxious." She sniffed. Her face was pale after her encounter, but her hazel eyes were still sparkling.

"I never knew he had a birthmark on his head." Sirius pouted. Cory rolled her eyes at him.

"Did you really think he told you everything?" She scoffed.

"Yeah, I reckon he did. Best friends tell each other everything. But you wouldn't know about that, would you?" He said sarcastically. Cory fumed.

"I don't need this right now. I'll see you guys tomorrow morning." She scowled at the audience before stalking to her room.

Cory got hardly any sleep that night. Her dreams were plagued by images of James, Voldemort, her parents and Regulus, all blaming her. They'd blame her for different things as the night wore on. First for getting sorted into Slytherin (as if it were a crime), then for not working hard enough in the Auror Corps, and then they went so far as to blame her for their deaths.

It was after a particularly nasty dream where James and Regulus proceeded to hex the hell out of her that Cory got out of bed and paced her room.

The clock on the wall told her it was only 3:00. She sighed. The last time she had been this weary at three in the morning, she had gotten word of James' death.

She didn't know what came over her, but suddenly her legs were moving her across the hall. She suddenly wasn't as tired as she pushed open the door to Regulus' room. A gasp escaped her lips. Still unaware of what she was doing she sat down on the bed. A small bit of dust rose into the air as she bounced on it slightly. She sighed before lying down, pressing her face into the pillow. She breathed in.

The smell of dust was heavy, but as she pressed further in, there was a scent that she could definitely recognize.

It still smelled like him.

Tears immediately sprung from her eyes as she snuggled into the pillow. She hugged it close to her body and breathed in the scent even more. She didn't know how long she stayed like that, but the last thing she remembered was whispering one word into the night before darkness covered her sight.

"Reg…"

* * *

"And our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is Miss Cornelia Potter." Cory rose from her seat at the staff table and bowed her head slightly.

After her little episode the night before, Cory got up at 8:00, ate a piece of toast and flooed out of Grimmauld Place, barely managing to say good-bye to its occupants. It hadn't taken her long to find her quarters (remembering the corridors of the school was like remembering to ride a bike) and she took her time unpacking, before meeting up with Severus for dinner.

Cory sat in between Severus and Minerva McGonagall, who had been one of her least favorite teachers in school, mostly because she favored James. Now however, she found herself speaking to her colleague with respect and a level of intelligence that she hadn't been able to achieve in school.

"And this year we have the pleasure of hosting a Ministry Official at our school. May I present to you, Dolores Umbridge, the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic." Cory had taken a sip of water after sitting down, and this new information caused her to choke loudly. Severus rolled his eyes and patted her back slightly, causing all the occupants of the Hall to stare at her. Including Umbridge.

The woman sent down a nasty glare at the professor, causing her to smirk and wave slightly in response.

"Now Mr. Filch has asked me to--"

"_Hem, hem…"_ Cory threw her eyes to the Umbridge woman as she had the gall to interrupt the headmaster.

A growl caught in her throat.

Severus placed a calming hand on her shoulder, but she didn't relax.

"It's so great to see all these shining faces staring back at me--"

"--What is she doing here?" Cory whispered to Severus as she kept a cool mask while staring at the students.

Draco caught her eye at the Slytherin table and rolled his in response to the horrid woman.

"The Ministry is trying to interfere at Hogwarts." He responded, not looking at her.

"That's bull shit." She ground out. She glanced at the Gryffindor table to see Harry and Ron zoned out. Hermione also looked to be faltering, which made Cory's lip twitch upward.

"Do you think I'm not aware?"

"What's she going to be doing here? I mean, she can't do much, can she?" She whispered incredulously as she turned her attention back to the vile woman.

"She's going to be evaluating us. From what I'm aware of, she's going to be sitting in on our classes and if we do an 'unsatisfactory job'" Cory glanced out of the corner of her eye to see him using air quotes, "they can sack us."

"They won't sack us. For one, Lucius won't let them. And then there's the fact that they're only against us because of Harry. You don't like the kid, so they have nothing against you. And it was a known fact that James and I never got on after school, so maybe they'll think I don't get on with Harry. And then individually, you just scare the hell out of anyone you see, and well, let's face it, Fudge has adored me since Auror training." She bragged.

"Why, I don't know." He answered disgustedly. It was true. Cornelius Fudge used to work in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement when Cory entered the Auror force. They had bonded over their similarly obnoxious names and the rest just went on from there. Fudge had always seen her as a little sister who he liked to annoy.

"Anyway, I think we should just act like we normally would. Pretend she's the teacher, and _we're _the students." She said, plotting.

"As if I was going to do anything else." Severus smirked. Cory held her fist out under the table. He pounded his against hers and she smiled.

The Slytherin duo was back.

* * *

First block, Cory didn't have a class. Second block, Cory was stuck teaching first year Hufflepuff and Ravenclaws. That went by pretty easily. All she did was introduce herself, go over the rules, syllabus, and assigned them a chapter from their text to read for homework, which she let them start in class.

It was third block that she was looking forward to.

She had a double blocked class teaching 5th year Gryffindors and Slytherins. She sat at her desk nervously twirling her wand and shuffling papers before the door opened. She stood up and leaned against her desk, waiting for the final bell to toll.

When it did, she looked at the eager faces of the 5th year students. Their books were all out and they had their wands lying across their table tops. She furrowed her eyebrows. _Accio_ she thought. Instantly, every wand that was out was now in her hand.

"Raise your hand if your wand was just removed from your desk." She said quietly as she clutched the pieces of wood in her hand.

She sadly noted that over half the class raised their hands. The exceptions being Draco Malfoy, another tall Slytherin boy, one Slytherin girl, and Ron Weasley, but Cory reckoned that he just forgot to take his out.

"First rule of Defense, always have your wand on your person." She said coolly as she banished the wands back to their owners. This little display managed to catch the attention of the class, as they were all staring at her in awe.

"But professor, what are the odds that we would be attacked in a classroom?" Hermione asked in a know-it-all voice. Cory noted with an inward grin that both Harry and Ron rolled their eyes.

"Last year you had a Death Eater imposter as your Defense teacher the entire year. It would have been only so easy for him to have attacked you all, if you left your wands unattended. From now on, I don't want to see any of you without a wand on you at any time. A wand is a wizards most rudimentary but effective weapon. Without it, most wizards are lost. I plan to change that. This brings us to my first point of the day." She said as she paced the front of the classroom. She pointed her wand at the chalkboard and began to dictate.

"This year, you will be focusing mainly on defensive and offensive spells. You will study the art of dueling an opponent in both a professional environment as well as on the battlefield. You will study hand-to-hand combat and what type of defense works best for you. We also have to prepare you for your O.W.Ls." She said with a smirk. No one was taking notes, as everyone was still staring at this new teacher in awe.

"There are dueling competitions that take place around the world. Some of you may be aware that Charlie Sanders is the British champion. Professional dueling has its own set of rules and guidelines. You will learn these rules and guidelines in this class. Battlefield dueling is a totally different game, however. The only rule is to survive longer than your opponent does. You take them down in anyway possible. Now, I'm not opposed to killing the opponent _if_ that is the only way." She stressed the 'if' and suddenly her face got serious. "But I'm much more comfortable with stunning and apprehending."

"You will learn how to throw and take a punch, and we won't really dabble into the martial arts, but you will learn the basics, such as punching, blocking, kicking, learning to fall, and other basic maneuvers.

"You will find that each person has a different subject that they like to lean on while they are in combat. I'm a big fan of what _I_ call landscape dueling. I use my surroundings to the best of my abilities. In school I excelled in potions and herbology, so I knew all sorts of plants. Let me tell you how enjoyable it is to fling a wild mandrake at a Death Eater." She chuckled at the thought. The class just looked a little uneasy, but still listened intently.

"Some people enjoy using Transfiguration in their dueling. If you can animate objects, you can have them take curses for you while you take an offense on the opponent. Instead of using magical energy to make a shield, you can focus on getting out alive.

"So we'll be gauging that over the next few weeks. I'd like to see where your strengths lie, and what you feel most comfortable doing. Rest assured I _will_ be talking to your teachers to see what you excel in and what you need to work on.

"Now, any questions?" She asked pleasantly as she clasped her hands in front of her. There was a slight pause in the classroom, before a girl who was sitting behind Draco raised her hand.

"How are you related to Potter?" She asked snootily as she crossed her arms on her desk. Draco rolled her eyes slightly, but the rest of the class waited for her response.

"I'm his aunt." She said simply, not pushing the matter further. There was another pause, before a boy from the back of the room raised his hand.

"Yes Mr…?"

"Finnegan. Seamus Finnegan. What is it you used to work as before you became a professor?" His Irish accent was thick as the class once again waited for her to answer the question. Defense teachers were always a mystery, and most didn't want to take chances after last years fiasco.

"I was an Auror. I worked for the Ministry during the First War before I was transferred to America, where I worked there up until this summer."

"Why is it called the 'First War'?" A voice called from the corner.

"First War implies that we are expecting a second." She said cryptically. A slight shiver ran through the classroom.

"Can you tell us about your time at Hogwarts?" Hermione asked loudly. Everyone looked at her in surprise, but stared at Cory, waiting for a response.

"I suppose…" She said uneasily. "I grew up right outside of Manchester, and I was sorted into Slytherin at Hogwarts. I was top in all my classes except for Potions, where Professor Snape always beat me by a hair, and in Transfiguration, where my brother held the highest grade." She crinkled her nose.

"I was a prefect, and then I was named Quidditch Captain in my 6th year. I played center chaser from 2nd year on. Um…I got 10 O.W.Ls, and 7 N.E.W.T.s. I got my N.E.W.T.s in Defense, Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Herbology, Arithmancy and Ancient Runes." She trailed off, not knowing what else to say.

"Are there any more questions?" Her tone of voice suggested that there should be no more questions.

The class was silent.

"The let the games begin." She said mischievously as she twirled her wand lazily between her fingers.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry this took so long to get out! I had it written on Monday, but I've been trying to finish my summer homework all week (and I'm still not done, so be grateful). Originally, it was supposed to include the entire class, buttt, i didnt really want to, seeing as how it's about 5000 words as it is. So I dunno when the next chapter will be out, since I start school this week, but I'll really try to update AT LEAST once every two weeks, if not more. HUGE thanks to **_**getupandgo**_**, **_**OnimeKyo-Kyuubi**_**, and **_**Owl Emporium**_** for the awesommmeeee reviews. I really appreciate it guys! Also, please review after this chapter, it really does make my day to see them review.**

**So far the poll is **

**7 for Sirius/Cory and**

**2 for Remus/Cory.**

**To be honest, I'm leaning towards Cory and Sirius, but the poll will be open for a while longer, so cast your votes!**

**Also, let me know if something is wrong, like words are italicized or whatever, because the fanfiction doc editor is being obnoxious...**

**Thanks for reading!**

**-Shawn**


	8. Not So Friendly

**Story Title: Crimson and Clover**

**Chapter Title: Not So Friendly**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, Hogwarts, or anything from the books. I own Cory and any concepts, ideas, people or places that you may not have heard of, unless I say otherwise. The title comes from the song "Crimson and Clover" by Tommy James and the Shondells, though I originally got it from the song "A Praise Chorus" by Jimmy Eat World.**

**Warning: Might be some mild language again. I know its rated T because of it, but I like to warn people, just in case. **

**Story Summary: **_**Cornelia "Cory" Potter was never the perfect child, no, that was left up to her brother James. Her twin brother, James Potter, who was younger than her by a mere 7 minutes, but was still younger nevertheless, was always better than she was. Always the one who was slightly better at flying, the one with the wicked sense of humor, the one with the good looks, the one who could get away with everything, the **_**Gryffindor. **_**When the hat shouted out that Cory was destined to forever adorn the Slytherin crest on her robes, her life went down the tubes. Her parents still loved her, sure, but James never forgave her. After his death, she moved to America, but now that Voldemort is back, she's been called back to fight. And fight she will. A Slytherin never backs down from battle, no matter which side they're on, and Cory is ready to take on her old friends, while fighting alongside her old enemies. **_

* * *

_"So we're going to go to look at brooms. Do you want to come?" James asked Cory as they walked through the entrance of Diagon Alley._

_"Mate, she's not coming with us." Of course, James Potter's companion was none other than Sirius Black, who was glaring at his best friend's sister._

_"Like I'd want to be seen with you." She drawled with disgust. The two were facing each other, gray eye to hazel._

_"You're just upset that you'll never get this." He smirked, gesturing to his body. Cory recoiled in disgust._

_"Ew. Why anyone would like you is beyond me. You're a pig." She seethed._

_"You're such a b--"_

_"GUYS!" James shouted. The two enemies looked up in surprise._

_"Seriously, stop fighting. I've had enough and Sirius has only been here for a week." James growled, getting in between the two of them._

_"And what a long week it's been." Cory glowered._

_"Cory." James warned._

_"Sorry." She looked down._

_"So we're going to look at broomsticks. We can meet up at Florean's later?" He continued quietly. Cory nodded slightly._

_"I'm supposed to meet up with some people soon anyway." She said quietly. James hugged her good-bye, while Sirius just frowned in disgust._

_"Yeah, go hang out with your slimy Slytherins." He glared._

_"I will." She huffed before stomping away._

_James elbowed his friend in annoyance when she was out of sight._

_"What?" Sirius asked alarmed._

_"Can't you be nice to my sister for once?" He asked exasperatedly._

_"No, she's a bitch." He frowned._

_"Not really, she's only like that to you because you're an arse to her." James replied quietly as the two scanned the shops._

_"She's a Slytherin, mate, they all turn out evil eventually." _

_"Cory's not like that. She's not into dark magic." James shook his head as they entered Quality Quidditch Supplies._

_"Says you." Sirius retorted. The two quickly dropped the conversation as they spotted the new Comet 79 in awe._

* * *

_After leaving her brother in a fuss, Cory slowly walked around Diagon Alley, not really having a set destination. She was supposed to meet up with Severus and Regulus now, but they hadn't agreed on a set location. She paused slightly outside of Madame Malkins. The store had a really cute dress in the front. She stared at it for a moment, before preparing to enter the store._

_"CORE!" She turned in surprise at the voice of her best friend. It was Severus, running down the hill to meet her, with Regulus on his heels._

_"Severus!" She squealed before sprinting towards him. The two best friends met half-way and Severus swung her in his arms, pulling her in a tight embrace._

_"I've missed you." She mumbled into his shirt. Severus laughed loudly, while Regulus looked awkward on the side._

_"I've missed you too." He smiled. The two best friends pulled away, and Cory met eyes with Regulus._

_"Hey, Core." He said quietly. Cory did not respond, but instead flung her leg back and jammed it into his shin, causing him to cry out in pain._

_"Bloody hell! What was that for?!" He shrieked as he jumped up and down._

_"_THAT_ was for allowing your miserable excuse of a brother run away from home. Guess who's been stuck with him for the past week?!" She growled out as the three began to walk along the alley, trying not to make a scene._

_"Ew, a week with Black. I feel for you, mate." Severus said softly, slinging an arm around her shoulder._

_"Sorry, but it wasn't my fault. Mum went all insane this summer. She and dad did quite a number on him." Regulus frowned._

_"Oh, Reg, I'm sorry, mate. Are you okay?" She asked tenderly, breaking from Severus' hold to embrace her younger friend._

_"I guess, I mean, I don't know. At least he has the courage to stand up to them, at least he got away. But he didn't even say good-bye. I mean, we're family. He said bye to my parents!" He cried in pain._

_"Well, I'm sure it wasn't a very heart-felt good-bye." She joked. Regulus just glared._

_"Sorry, not helping."_

_"I dunno, I just feel annoyed that he didn't even care." Regulus said quietly. The trio had moved near a back alley, and was leaning against the brick wall._

_"If it makes you feel any better, you're brother is a right bastard. For more reasons than ignoring you, that's for sure." _

_"I know." He said quietly. The three were silent for a moment, before Cory broke it._

_"So I'm meeting up with my brother and Sirius at Florean's around 1:00 or something, would you lot like to come so I'm not surrounded by Gryffindor idiocy?" She asked quietly as they made their way out of the back alley. Cory dragged them to Madame Malkins as they tried to answer her._

_"Nah, I have to be home at 12:30. Mum wouldn't tell me why." Regulus said thoughtfully. Cory rolled her eyes, but turned to Severus._

_"I can't, Lucius got me tickets to the Harpies game at noon."_

_"Lucius is taking you to a Harpies game, but not me?" She whined as she grabbed the dress in her size._

_"No, he's not taking me. I told him I was planning to come to Diagon Alley today, and he just gave me the ticket. I'm going alone." He said distractedly as he stared at the dress in her hand._

_"What do you think of this?" She asked quietly as she held it up to her body._

_"Looks good. You going to try it on?" Regulus asked._

_"Yeah." She walked to the dressing room and slipped the fabric over her, careful to avoid messing with her hair._

_"Let's see it then." Regulus called from outside. Cory nodded and opened the door._

_Her two friends stood, mouths agape, staring at her._

_"Is it that bad?" She asked quietly, inspecting herself._

_"Core, mate, you look amazing." Severus said quietly. It was true. The dark blue dress hugged her figure easily. It was strapless and came to about half way down her calf. From about her waist it started to flow out easily in soft pleats, where it swirled around her legs as she moved. There was a white medium sized bow on her bosom that contrasted perfectly with the dress color. The dark blue was vibrant against her pale skin, which caused her black hair to stand out even more._

_"You look beautiful." Regulus breathed as he gulped for air._

_"Thank you." She blushed. The dress _was_ gorgeous, but she doubted she would ever find a reason to wear it._

_"You should wear that to the Ministry Ball this year." Severus said thoughtfully._

_The Ministry Ball was something that her father (as an auror) was invited to every year. It was on New Year's Eve, and last year she had attended with Lucius._

_"True." She conceded._

_"So you're going to buy it?" Regulus asked, his eyes sparkling._

_"I suppose." She shrugged. She walked up to the counter and quickly bought the dress, leaving Severus and Regulus to stare around the store awkwardly._

_"Where to next?"_

* * *

_By 12:00 Severus had departed, promising to meet again soon, which left the two friends to walk around Diagon Alley with relative ease. They didn't really have a set destination, but were just enjoying each others company._

_"I think they're in the right. I mean, why do we want mudbloods to soil our purity?" Regulus asked conversationally as the two passed Ollivanders._

_Cory gave him a sharp look._

_"Alright, alright. _Muggleborns, _but really, I believe in what he stands for." Regulus continued honestly._

_"Why should it matter if muggleborns marry into our blood? At least we won't be in-breeding like you lot do now." She said pointedly._

_"Muggleborns don't hold the same intelligence and aptitude for magic as we do." He explained patiently._

_"False, look at Lily Evans. She's got to be the smartest witch in my year, next to me." She bragged._

_"Yes, you, a pure-blood." He pointed out._

_"But she's smarter than Narcissa, who's supposedly as pure as they come."_

_"It's Narcissa…really?" He rolled his eyes._

_"True." She conceded._

_The pair was silent for a moment._

_"So don't you find it a bit odd that both you and Severus have to be out of here so soon?" She asked thoughtfully._

_"I guess, I dunno. My mum said I had to be home by 12:30 sharp or else I'm grounded until school." He groaned._

_"See, that only left you an hour to shop around. That doesn't make any sense. Your mum's insane, but she's not _that_ weird." _

_"Yeah, and did you notice how Severus said that Lucius gave him the ticket only_ after_ he mentioned that he would be spending the day in Diagon?" He chewed his lip in concentration._

_"You don't think its--" She started._

_"You don't reckon it could be--" Regulus said at the same time. The two looked at each other sharply, before bursting into laughter._

_"Of course not, that's a stupid thought." Cory laughed uneasily. The two settled into an awkward silence._

_"So…Core, now that I have you alone. Um…could we maybe talk?" He asked timidly. Cory looked up quickly._

_"Sure thing, Reg. What about?" She smiled._

_"About…us." He said quietly. Cory stopped short._

_"What about _us?_" _

_"Well, I just, I dunno. I think I kind of…sort of…I think I may…" _

_"Spit it out, kid." She growled._

_"I think I may like you as more than a friend." He said quickly._

_"What?" She said in confusion._

_"I think…I think I may have developed feelings for you, that aren't quite friendly…" He trailed off._

_"Oh." She said softly._

_Regulus continued. "So do you think, maybe, you would want to like, go out with me sometime?" _

_"I don't know, Reg. You're one of my best friends, and I don't think I'm ready to risk losing you." She said quietly._

_"I don't want to lose you either. But I already see you in a different light…and I don't think this is going to go away." He frowned._

_"Honestly, I've never thought of you as more than a friend."_

_"I knew it." He said sadly. "And now it's going to be all weird between us because I have feelings for you."_

_"Of course it won't. I promise, Reg, that our friendship will never change. But I can think on it. You know the whole dating thing? We already get along so well, maybe I should give it a shot." She said hopefully._

_"You mean it?"_

_"Sure. I'll let you know soon." She promised._

_"Great." He said brightly._

_"Hey, it's 12:15. You should probably head back." She said down-trodden._

_"Yeah, alright. I'll talk to you later." He pulled her into a friendly (but awkward) hug, and walked away._

_Cory spent the next 40 minutes wandering the Alley, occasionally stopping in on different stores to purchase a few items. At 12:55 she settled into a booth at Florean's with a double scoop of rocky rocky road (which had cookies in it!) and waited for her brother and worst enemy to arrive._

_It wasn't too long before they arrived, surprisingly on time for once._

_"Hey!" James said enthusiastically as he caught sight of her. Sirius merely groaned as James dragged him over._

_"Hey James, Sirius." She smiled._

_"So how was your day?" He asked conversationally as Sirius walked away, saying he would buy ice cream for James and himself._

_"It was okay. I met up with Regulus and Severus, and we shopped for a bit. I bought a dress for the ball in December, it's absolutely stunning." She gushed._

_"I hope it's not too low cut." He said sternly._

_"What are you? Dad? And its strapless, so it's not really low cut." She huffed._

_"So where are Regulus and Snivellus?" He continued._

_"_Severus_" She growled, "Went to the Harpies game, and Regulus had to be home a little while ago. Says his mum would ground him if he didn't." She complained._

_"That's weird. But Sirius did say his mum was nutters." James conceded._

_"My mum _is_ nutters." Sirius groaned as he joined the two. James happily dug into his ice cream, which caused the three to fall into an awkward silence._

_"So I bought this new--" James was cut off by a shriek in the distance. He closed his mouth abruptly and the three stared at each other for a moment._

_"Well that didn't sound good." Sirius muttered._

_Instantly, each sprung out of their seats, quickly jumping out of the booth._

_"You don't think it's--" James cut her off._

_"--Of course it isn't, he wouldn't attack Diagon Alley, would he?" _

_"He might, he's gaining power." Cory said quietly. The three waited along with the other occupants in Florean's for noise from outside the shop._

_"I bet your stupid friends are behind this, Corny." Sirius spat. Cory threw a glare at him over her shoulder, but quickly turned back to the alley, eyes trained for sudden movement._

_"Doubt it. They're too young anyway. You-know-who doesn't recruit students." She said distractedly._

_"Then why aren't they here?" Cory looked up suddenly. Of course. It all made sense._

_"You're right. Regulus' mum said he had to be home at 12:30. She must have known! You're parents are obviously in the league with you-know-who, even if they aren't Death Eaters. And everyone knows Lucius is going to become one, he probably heard from someone else, and got Severus out of there! It all fits!" She exclaimed._

_"Oh, so even the Slytherins don't care about you?" He asked lazily._

_"I guess not." She snorted, pulling out her wand._

_"What are you doing?" James asked sharply._

_"Um…going to fight..?" _

_"No you're not, you're getting out of here now." He shouted._

_"Sure, _dad_. Except they've probably blocked off the floo network and put up anti-apparation wards so that no one can leave. Duh." She said as if it were obvious._

_"You would know how the Death Eater's operate." Sirius said quietly._

_"NOT NOW, SIRIUS!" The twins shouted simultaneously._

_They looked at each other for a moment._

_Another scream pierced the air._

* * *

"Alright, I want you guys to split yourselves up. Half of you on one side of the class, half on the other." Cory watched grimly as the fifth year students stood from their seats and separated across the room. Of course, Slytherins went to one side and Gryffindors to the other.

"No, no, no. This won't do." She shook her head, thinking for a moment.

"Alright, I want each of you to take off your robes and your ties." She decided, shedding her own robe as she said so. She tossed it over her shoulder and watched as the students uneasily shrugged theirs off as well. Each tossing them off to the side, before stuffing their ties into their pockets.

"Now nothing separates you except for your own prejudices." She said coldly.

"We're not the one's who are prejudice! It's the Slytherins who have it out for muggles!" Ron Weasley blurted out, before turning red. Cory sent a glare his way.

"Oh really, Mr. Weasley?" Ron gulped, but nodded anyway.

"So you're saying that you have no prejudices, at all?" She asked loudly. A few Slytherins scoffed, but she silenced them with a wave of her hand, waiting for the Gryffindor to continue.

Ron nodded meekly.

"So when did you decide that you wanted to be a Gryffindor?" She asked conversationally as she leaned against her desk.

"As soon as I knew what Hogwarts was." He said proudly.

"And when did you decide that being a Slytherin was a bad thing?" She pressed.

"When I wanted to be a Gryffindor."

"And why is that?" She prodded, eyes flashing.

"Because they're evil." He continued.

"So that's not being prejudice then?" She asked pleasantly.

"No, because I know they're evil." He stated.

"Not really. You judged them before you knew them. That's prejudice. For all you know, Blaise Zabini could be a really nice guy. You just wouldn't give him the time of day because he's a Slytherin." She raised her eyebrows, daring him to respond. Ron stared at her blankly, not getting the point. Cory sighed impatiently.

"Let's try this again, how many muggleborns are in this class?" She watched as 4 Gryffindors and a…_Slytherin_ raised their hands.

"So…Miss Granger, when you came to Hogwarts, did you know anything about the houses other than that Gryffindor was for the brave, Ravenclaw for the intelligent, Hufflepuff for the loyal, and Slytherin for the cunning?" Hermione stared at her wide-eyed as she was put on the spot.

"N-No." She stuttered.

"So when did you decide that Slytherin was evil?" She asked patiently. Hermione took a breath, but Ron beat her to it.

"When Malfoy was mean to Harry and the other Gryffindors." He fumed.

"Did you ever think, Mr. Weasley, that maybe Mr. Malfoy is just a bad egg? Perhaps he was one of those spoiled 11-year-old boys who liked to think that the world revolved around them? It happens." She explained. Draco made a noise of protest, but Cory made no move to console him.

"Well…well the Slytherins just egged him on!" He burst out indignantly.

"So Miss Granger, when did you decide that Slytherins were evil?" She asked, ignoring the flaming red-head.

"A couple days after the sorting, when the rest of Gryffindor told me about how mean they were." She said quietly.

"But you hadn't actually seen it until you started to ignore and alienate them, correct?" She asked slyly. Hermione nodded shamefully.

"Prejudice and hatred and alienation are what are tearing us apart. I hope you realize that. You can name so many examples in history where alienation and judgment have caused the downfall of great nations. Muggles have never done anything to us recently. Sure, there were the witch burnings of the 16th century, but that was too long ago to mind anymore.

"It is people like Voldemort and Grindlewald who are the reason for our hatred for each other. Did you know that of the official "dark lords" from the time this school was built; only 3 of the 11 were sorted into Slytherin? That's a little less than one-fourth. Of the rest, one was sorted into Hufflepuff, 4 into Ravenclaw and 3 were in Gryffindor." She paused to take a breath, and noted that both sides of the classroom were staring at her earnestly.

"The only reason that people right now are so against Slytherin is that of those 3 Slytherin dark lords, 2 of them were in the last century. The other was back in the 1500's, who didn't actually kill muggleborns, but killed people who fought against the crown in the revolution." She added as a side-note.

"I'm not going to lie to you and say that people don't judge. I made great friends with Gryffindors before I was sorted into Slytherin, and once that hat shouted out my house, I lost them in an instant. I know that after 3rd year, I stopped caring about Gryffindors and started to see them as attention-seeking prats. It wasn't until I reached auror training that I realized how silly I had been. Once you're put in a squad, no one cares about who you were, they just care that you've got their back, and that you'll protect them when they need you, as they will for you.

"You're only hindering yourselves by caring so much now. Because in the real world, no one is going to care who you were or what you did when you were a child." She pointed out.

"So now, I need two volunteers from the same house." She switched gears quickly, so the students paused for a moment before springing into action. She noticed that Harry and Ron raised their hands as did Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini. She thought for a moment.

"Malfoy, Zabini, to the front. Now." She said firmly. The two glanced at each other before shrugging their shoulders and shuffling forward.

"I want you two to pick teams." She said simply.

"What?" Draco asked.

"I want both of you to pick people that you would like to be on your team. I won't tell you what it's for, only that it'll last for a few weeks. You each have to take turns picking for your team until there is no one left in the class." She explained. Her godson stared at her wide-eyed.

"But--but that means that--"

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy, this means that you will have to pick Gryffindors to be on your team." She drawled.

"I don't want to be involved with them. They're mudbloods." He spat.

"Ten points from Slytherin. Use that term in this classroom or in my presence again, and you can guarantee a detention and a lot more than 10 points." She growled. The class stared at her.

"Now, _pick teams._"

Blaise Zabini went first, picking Daphne Greengrass. Draco followed and chose Pansy Parkinson.

This went on until both boys had exhausted their Slytherin candidates.

"Well, it does look like there are no Slytherins left to choose from. In the real world you cannot choose who you work with. You are lucky I'm giving you that choice. Now Draco, pick your next teammate." She said icily.

"Granger." He spat. Hermione stared wide-eyed. Draco glared and rudely motioned her forward. She huffed and began to walk before Cory made a show of stopping her.

"Stop, stop, stop." She huffed. "Two things. One, in this class you will refer to people by their first names only. Last names are a sign of uneven status. In this classroom you are all peers. You are fifth year students who are trying to learn proper defense."

"But I_ am_ superior to Granger." Draco groaned.

"Five points for not following instructions, Malfoy. Now. Number two. Do you all notice how even though Mr. Malfoy firmly believes he is superior to muggleborns, he picked one first because he knows she will be an asset on his team? He used his prior knowledge of his classmates and decided that he would rather have her as an ally rather than an opponent. This brings me to a whole other point of war.

"The whole basis of the wars fought in the Wizarding World is recruitment. Voldemort and Grindelwald would not have risen to power had it not been for the immense backing that they saw behind them. People join others for various reasons. Some join out of fear. Some join for the power that they think they'll get when their side wins. Some join because the leader has immense power. They join because they believe that one side has the right beliefs. But there's one other reason that brings me back to my earlier point today. Alienation by the other side. Let me explain.

"You all believe that Slytherin is "evil" and uses dark magic, while Gryffindors are "good" and use light magic. So say…Daphne Greengrass over here," The girl in question blushed profusely, "doesn't really like dark magic or what Voldemort stands for. So she refuses to join him and instead decides she wants go fight for the light, the other side. But the light, seeing that she's a Slytherin, refuses to let her join because they believe she could be a spy. So now Daphne has two choices." She paused to take a breath.

"She can remain neutral, but let's face it, in a war, neutrality is the last thing you want to do, because someone will come after you eventually, or she can go back to the dark side where they will most likely welcome her.

"The dark side has an advantage over the light, because that's where everyone who has been alienated by society will go. The reason Voldemort had _such_ an advantage during the First War was because he had the giants, vampires, werewolves, and other "dark" creatures on his side. Because these beings are shunned by our society, they feel that if they help the dark side win, they will eventually get rewarded.

"But don't think that the dark side is flawless. Oh no, see, the problem with them is that they only care about blood. Let me use another example. Say Miss Granger over here decides she's sick of light magic and wants to go to the dark." Immediately Gryffindors started to protest, but Cory once again silenced the class with a wave of her hand.

"The dark side probably wouldn't allow her to join because she's a muggleborns. But Hermione is the smartest in her year isn't she? Wouldn't she be such an asset to the dark side, because of her fantastic skills not only as a witch, but as a researcher as well? If we don't look past our prejudices then both sides will be locked in a stale-mate for years to come. This is why we are doing this drill." She finished. The class stared at her blankly.

"Miss Granger, please proceed to Mr. Malfoys team, Mr. Zabini, please choose your next teammate." She huffed.

Blaise chose Ron Weasley. Draco chose Harry Potter next.

The two Slytherins reluctantly picked the rest of the Gryffindors (with Lavender Brown being last) and the class turned back to their teacher, waiting for further instruction.

"On your desk," She waved her wand to the classroom. "Is a piece of parchment which contains the names of the rest of your teammates. Your homework for next class is to write three strengths and three weaknesses about each of your teammates. They must be school related ideas, so nothing like "she's a muggleborn" or "he's an idiot" if you will. This will help each of you understand how you will be performing with each other and how your team will fare against the others."

Draco raised his hand slightly.

"What exactly are we doing?" He asked arrogantly.

"Excellent question, Mr. Malfoy. How long do we have left of class?" She countered. Seamus Finnegan glanced at his watch.

"Fifteen minutes!" He blurted. Cory smiled.

"Just enough time to explain, everyone, back to your seats!" She exclaimed. The class rushed to their seats, eagerly awaiting their assignment.

"Now that you all have your teams, it's time for me to reveal what you need them for. From now until the end of November we will be focusing on battlefield dueling. The teams you are in are the teams that you will fight with until that time. Over the next couple of weeks, this room will transform into a battlefield, and every two weeks we will have a real battle. Every class in between will be minor skirmishes where you will learn new spells and such."

"I thought you said that we would only be in these teams for a little while." Draco Malfoy whined. The class shot him a look.

"I lied didn't I?" She smirked.

"Moving on. Every battle, your team will be dealt a side. You will flip a coin to see which side you get. I will put this in the best way you can understand. One battle you may be the Death Eaters, and one battle you may be the Aurors. It all depends on who wins the coin toss. Next class I will assign you 500 curses, hexes, charms, and other spells that are available for you to use. Half will be "light" and the other half will be "dark." By the end of the year, you will learn them all, but I suggest you be prepared, because if you are a Death Eater, you will only be using the "dark" spells, and as an Auror, only the "light." This isn't to say that in the real world Aurors don't use dark magic, it just isn't as often."

"You'll be allowing us to use dark magic in the classroom?" Hermione asked, appalled.

"You can't fight against it unless you know what it is. These spells are only border-line dark, however, so it won't inflict much damage on your opponent." She explained patiently. Hermione still looked a little uneasy, but Cory continued.

"Every night for the next three months you will be assigned a spell to practice and learn. When this class is turned into a battlefield, it will be very similar, almost a replication, of previous battles in the First War. So you will be able to use your surroundings to your advantage, just as a warning." She looked around the room.

"Any questions?" The class was silent.

"Then you are free to go. Next class we will get further into it, and we will start learning our first set of spells!" She said gleefully. The class began to shrug on their robes and most slung their ties around their necks, to lazy to tie them. Cory paused for a moment.

"Will Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter please stay behind for a few moments?" She called. The two teenagers turned to look at her in confusion, but conceded.

She saw Hermione, Ron, Crabbe, and Goyle waiting outside her door, so she shooed them away before shutting it and turning to her two charges.

Draco and Harry glared at each other until Cory cleared her throat loudly.

"So, boys. I'm sure you're wondering what you're doing here." She smiled. Harry stared at her, while Draco scoffed.

"Oh come on, Core. This is rubbish, just let me go to lunch, I'm hungry." He whined. Cory and Harry narrowed their eyes simultaneously.

"That was weird." Draco muttered.

"Harry, there's something you should know." She started delicately. "In school, Lucius Malfoy was one of my closest friends. So when Draco was born, I was named his godmother."

"Okay…" Harry looked confused.

"So I want you to know that I care about Draco as much as I care about you." She continued. Harry still looked at her in confusion but Draco groaned.

"Why am I here?" He whined again.

"Whine one more time, and I'm telling your mother." She growled. Draco looked unfazed.

"Mum doesn't hold much respect for you anymore. After your little visit, dad spent the night in the guest room." He laughed. Cory joined him.

"Terribly sorry for that. You know I love messing with your mother." She grinned. Harry looked lost.

"So anyway. I want you two to do me a favor. Since I care about you both very much, I want the two of you to be getting along this year. I don't want either of you fighting with each other, and I don't want you calling each other names or anything like that." She warned.

"Core--"

"Cory--" The two started together, before turning to glare at each other.

"I'm not asking you two to be friends; I'm just asking that you at least _tolerate_ each other." She said exasperatedly.

"I could never tolerate _him_." Draco said with disgust.

"Right back at you." Harry spat.

"Enough! You are both a part of my family, and I don't want you two fighting. Were _either_ of you listening to me at all during class?" She cried.

"Yes, Core."

"Yes, Cory." The two glared at each other once again.

"Moving on. Every Friday night, I was wondering if I could have tea with you two?" She asked quietly.

"I thought you didn't drink tea?" Harry asked.

"Well…you two would be drinking the tea. I'd probably just sit there with pumpkin juice." She shrugged.

"But it would be nice to stay involved in your lives and Harry, I was never really a part of your life and I want to be. And Draco, I haven't been involved in your life since you were 6, so I'd like to try again." She convinced.

"I guess we can deal with seeing each other once a week." Draco said grudgingly.

"Yeah, I suppose, for you, Aunt Cory." Harry shrugged.

"Excellent. Now, go get lunch you two. And if I catch wind of you two fighting, well…let's just say it won't be too fun for you two." She warned with a grin.

"Yeah, yeah. What are you going to do, call my mum?" Draco teased.

"No, but I do know Severus has been inventing some new potions recently." She teased. This shut Draco up immediately.

"See you later, Cory." Harry called as he walked out of the door. Draco waved a hand to her, and nodded.

"Later! And do your homework!" She called. She could hear the two laughing down the hall.

Cory sighed and walked towards her desk, picking up her discarded robe. She slipped it on easily and reached into her pocket. Her fingers connected with a crinkled piece of parchment.

She pulled it out in confusion.

It was Regulus' letter.

Cory didn't have a class for the rest of the day, and decided that she could swing by the kitchens later. She shut her door and sat at her desk, ready to read the letter that Regulus had left for her 16 years ago.

_My Dearest Cornelia,_

_It's weird writing this, seeing as how you just left my house, but I know that I don't have much time left. It's December 27__th__--_Cory choked back tears, it was the day before his death--_and tomorrow I'm doing something that I think you always knew I would do. Tomorrow, I'm going to defy the Dark Lord. I won't give you much information, but the Dark Lord has ways of securing his immortality, and he's created horcruxes. I don't know if you know what those are, and I don't know how many he made, but there's one at this cave that I'm going to head over to tomorrow. I'm not sure what object it is, but I'm asking Kreacher to return to the manor with it. I'm begging you, Core. Find whatever it is, and destroy it. We need to take this man down._

_There's a lot that I hope to accomplish with this letter, but I don't have much time (or parchment). I still have to write a letter to Severus and finalize plans for tomorrow; I'm setting off in a few hours at the latest._

_First I want to thank you. When I was a first year, everyone was making fun of me for having an oaf like Sirius as a brother, but you stood up for me, and became my first and best friend. For that, I thank you. Second, I want you to know how much you and Severus mean to me. You two got me through some of the worst times of my life, and even when I was missing Sirius, you stood by me, so thank you again._

_You were always there to protect me, and you always had my best interests at heart. Before I joined the Death Eaters, you were the only friend I had that wasn't in his service, and you constantly stood against him. You're always trying to talk me out of it and even now, you still are. I only wish I was as strong and brave as you are. But I'm not._

_There's something else I want to mention before I sign off this letter. I know how much you like simplicity, so I'll make it short and sweet. I love you. More than anything in the world. I know that it was only two years ago that we got together, and I know you're not waiting for me to propose or anything, but I want you to know why I haven't. First of all, we would have never survived. If the Dark Lord found out that I was married to an enemy, he would kill us both. Not to mention the fact that you and I would be fighting against each other would kill me (not that it doesn't already) but I don't think I could bear the fact if one of my comrades killed you, nor do I think you could bear the opposite. Even now, me going against the Dark Lord would have awful repercussions on our family. They would kill you first because I was a traitor, and make me watch, before taking mercy on me. _

_To be honest, I was going to propose to you on New Years last year, but I decided against it. If it were any other time, and any other place I would have. But we're here and now, and I pray that both of us can live with this awful mistake that I have made. In my room, underneath my bed, you'll see an old trunk. Its years old, but inside there's a wooden box. Open the box and you'll find another velvet box. It's blue._

_That would have been your rock._

_As I said, if it were any other time or place. My only hope is that what I'm doing can eventually bring the Dark Lord down. Maybe he'll never learn of my treachery, and maybe I can continue living and we'll make it through to the end. I doubt it, but if I do, you'll never see this letter and I'll propose to you. Obviously, since you are reading this letter, that didn't turn out quite the way I had planned. I don't know how long it has been (as I said, it's December 27__th__, 1979) since this letter was written, but I hope it's been long enough that you're living in a world without the constant threat of that madman. If not, Core, then I want you to do everything in your power to stop him. And I don't want to see you in hell for a long time alright. Since we both know that we'll both end up there anyway. Me for the obvious reasons and you because whatever God there is up there probably can't bear to have you around for the rest of eternity. _

_I jest, of course. We all know that of anyone, you're angelic enough to wind up with a spot in heaven._

_So now it's time for me to wind this letter down, and I just want to say one more thing._

_You're free._

_I hereby release you from any guilt you may be feeling about dating other guys. Go out and meet some devilishly handsome fellow (obviously he won't be as handsome as me) and settle down and start a family. Just don't forget that I will always love you, and I know you loved me too. _

_I hope we'll see each other again, but if not. Take care, and good luck. You're going to need it with the world I'm leaving behind. Take care of Severus, and don't let the Dark--Voldemort lay one hand on you. Or I'll personally come down (up…?) and smite him with my other worldly powers._

_Much love,_

_Regulus A. Black_

Cory couldn't stop the tears that had leaked out of her eyes.

* * *

**A/N: Wow…that was a long chapter to write! It was just about 7000 words and 18 pages long, so hurray for me! Sorry it took so long, but school started this week, so I was running around doing that. And then I had two volleyball games right after another this week as well (one was on my birthday!) so I was busy with that too. There wasn't that much plot development this chapter, but I've been dying to add the letter in and talk about the Diagon Alley massacre and start the new 'Defense game.' Next chapter will deal with some more Hogwarts stuff, and probably another Order meeting. Also, this is where Cory's Hogwarts days are going to start to string together. Next chapter will start right where this one left off, so yeah. I'm also thinking of splitting the beginning into James and Cory's pov (3****rd**** person limited, obviously) So tell me what you think. Would you mind following James and the marauders around for a little while each chapter? Leave it in a review and vote in my poll! Thank you to **_**OnimeKyo-Kyuubi **_**and **_**Owl Emporium**_** for their awesome reviews!!**

**So let me know what you think!**

**-Shawn**

* * *


	9. Not Headed in that Direction

****

Story Title: Crimson and Clover

**Chapter Title: Not Headed in that Direction**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, Hogwarts, or anything from the books. I own Cory and any concepts, ideas, people or places that you may not have heard of, unless I say otherwise. The title comes from the song "Crimson and Clover" by Tommy James and the Shondells, though I originally got it from the song "A Praise Chorus" by Jimmy Eat World.**

**Warning: Mild Language, and some corny romance!!**

**Story Summary: _Cornelia "Cory" Potter was never the perfect child, no, that was left up to her brother James. Her twin brother, James Potter, who was younger than her by a mere 7 minutes, but was still younger nevertheless, was always better than she was. Always the one who was slightly better at flying, the one with the wicked sense of humor, the one with the good looks, the one who could get away with everything, the _Gryffindor. **_**When the hat shouted out that Cory was destined to forever adorn the Slytherin crest on her robes, her life went down the tubes. Her parents still loved her, sure, but James never forgave her. After his death, she moved to America, but now that Voldemort is back, she's been called back to fight. And fight she will. A Slytherin never backs down from battle, no matter which side they're on, and Cory is ready to take on her old friends, while fighting alongside her old enemies.**_

* * *

_Cory and James stared at each other for a moment, trying to decide what to do._

"_Maybe we should just stay here!" A voice from the background called. Cory and Sirius turned their heads sharply._

"_Yeah right! Let's go smash some Death Eater skulls!" Sirius shouted._

"_I'm not staying here! Let's get out there and fight." The two enemies turned to one another, realizing they had spoken simultaneously._

"_Like you can fight against your own kind. I bet as soon as our backs our turned you'll attack us and run back to your master." Sirius spat. Cory glared at him and whirled around to face her brother._

"_I'm going out there James. You can stay here or fight. I don't care. But I'm not staying in here while innocent people are dying." She said firmly. With her wand trained in front of her, she stalked towards the door before taking a sharp intake of breath._

_Then she was gone. James glared at his best friend._

"_What is your problem?!" He shouted. Sirius looked at him in surprise._

"_What do you mean me? Your sister is probably out there right now helping the Death Eaters!" He shouted. By now the contents of Florean's were staring at the two Gryffindors in wonder._

"_I've told you over and over again. Cory isn't like that. And now she's going to get herself killed because you had to open your big mouth!" He groaned in frustration. _

"_Well, I don't know about you, but Cory was right. I'm not waiting around here while innocents are being killed by some madman." James huffed and exited the store in a similar style to his sister's._

"_Bloody hell." Sirius groaned before chasing after his best friend._

* * *

"_Bloody hell." Cory muttered as she sent another stunning hex at a Death Eater. She had been fighting this same one for the past ten minutes, and both were locked in a stalemate._

"_What are you, fifteen?" He sneered, sending a bludgeoning hex towards her. Cory rolled out of the way and sent a jelly legs jinx at his feet, which he quickly blocked._

"_Seventeen, thank you very much." She glowered, sending what had to have been her 15__th__ stunner of the battle._

_"You're gonna have to do better than that, kid." He laughed, sending a cutting curse at her face. Cory didn't have time to block it, and winced as it connected with her cheek, throwing her head to the side._

_"Crucio!" Cory's eyes widened as she glanced around her. In a split second she summoned a piece of debris in front of her, watching in awe as it exploded into bits. She recovered quickly, and used her opponents entranced state to stun him quickly._

_"Take that! Messing with a fifteen year old. Psh!" She muttered, delivering a kick to his side before running down the street._

_The Alley was chaos. There were only a few battles going on. Death Eaters were roaming the streets, killing people they came across. Shoppers had taken coverage in stores and were watching with horror at the destruction of the alley._

_Shops had fallen, crashing to the ground after repeated spell damage. The air was thick with dust and shrieks as people tried to escape. She could hear two distinct shouts coming from the other end of the alley. She ran._

_"James!" She shouted, trying to catch up to her brother. She saw him facing off against two Death Eaters. Next to him was Sirius, taking on a man of his own. Both men fought fearlessly, but were definitely struggling. Sirius was closer and Cory made a split second decision._

_"Stupefy!" She whispered, shooting her wand at Sirius' opponent. He had been blocking a spell from Sirius, so it hit him straight in the back, causing him to fall forward painfully with a dull 'thud.' Unfortunately, James had taken a moment to watch his best friend, which caused his opponents to quickly gain the upper hand. _

_Cory sprinted over next to Sirius, standing next to him, watching her brother take curse after curse. Finally he went down, and just as the two were about to advance, Cory spoke up._

_"You take the goon on the left; I'll go for the one on right." She said determinately._

_"I thought you'd never ask." Sirius said. It was meant for a laugh, but his tone was hard. Cory just rolled her eyes and prepared to face off, stepping in front of her brother._

_"Oh, what's this? Does the Potter baby need a little girl to protect him?" The Death Eater used a baby voice as he taunted James. Cory's eyes narrowed in slits._

_"I wouldn't be saying that, considering your about to be beaten by one." She growled. James tried to groan in protest, but he couldn't move from his spot on the ground._

_"What are you, twelve?" He laughed._

_"I'm bloody SEVENTEEN!" She growled, sending a cutting curse at the man. The man was unprepared and let out a grunt as he took it to the stomach._

_"Yeah, that's what I thought." She said mockingly. She raised her wand once more, but stopped short at the sound of several 'pops.'_

_"Shit, Cory." Sirius muttered from next to her. Cory gulped in agreement. The two turned their backs to each other._

_"You got my back, I got yours?" She asked bravely. Her eyes and wand were trained on the new Death Eaters in front of her. There had to have been at least six now._

_"Let's do this." He whispered. The two began sending curses wildly. They kept their backs pressed against each other and to an outsider appeared to be moving in sync with each other._

_When one would duck, it was as if the other could sense it, because not even half a second later, the other would duck too. They rotated as they fought, never taking on the same Death Eater for more than a moment. By the time two of the six were down, the two teenagers were breathing heavily._

_"We got this." She said convincingly._

_"Oh yeah, two's nothing." Sirius commented off-handedly. The two shared a quick glance before springing into action once again. The battle quickly ensued, pulling the attention of the two teens easily._

_It went on for quite some time, just blocking and ducking out of the way of spells. Cory and Sirius had the slightest advantage of being more in shape than their opponents, but it was only slight. _

_Suddenly Cory felt Sirius slacken behind her. She chanced a glance backwards and noticed that he had left her backside and had turned to face her as well. His eyes were glazed over._

_And suddenly it had become five against one._

_Cory began to back away slowly, trying to get against a wall as she tried to avoid sending spells to her brother's best friend. She managed to take one down with a well placed stunner, before the other three advanced on her. Sirius seemed to be fighting against the curse, so Cory ignored him for the moment while she prepared to engage in battle once again._

_"Crucio!" Two of them shouted at once, both aiming for different spots on her body. Cory knew there was no way out. She looked around for something to summon into the trajectory of the spell, but just as she had located a bit of debris, the curse collided full force with her chest. Cory was silent for a moment, before the spell sunk in._

_She let out an ear-piercing scream. She could feel her body beginning to convulse as fire poured openly through her veins. A scream tore out of her throat once again as tears pooled in her eyes. Just as she was ready to beg for death, the spell lifted. She glanced up in surprise, still panting and twitching from her bout with the curse._

_There was Sirius standing with his wand pointed at the spot where the two Death Eaters once stood. There was only one left to take on. Sirius rushed to her side and hoisted her up, before glaring at the enemy._

_"On three, then?" She asked lightly._

_"One." He grinned back._

_"Two." Just as Sirius was about to release the last word, the Death Eater glanced up and pointed his wand diagonally upward. Cory followed his wand. It was pointed at the store right behind them. She glanced back down at her attacker._

_Their eyes met. _

_He winked behind his mask and disappeared with a 'pop.'_

_"Shit!" Cory screeched, feeling the hard brick behind her rumble. Sirius seemed to realize the same thing as he stared at her in horror._

_"MOVE!" She shouted, grabbing Sirius by the collar as she flung him forward. Sirius tumbled across the alley in surprise, and just as Cory was about to follow, she felt something heavy fall on her back._

_"CORY!" She could barely hear Sirius shout as she tumbled to the ground. The last thing she felt was the heavy weight of brick on her body, before her vision was coveted in blackness._

* * *

_Severus Snape was never one to show emotion. Of all his friends, he was the one who could keep the cool and indifferent face while they let their emotions run loose._

_Not this time._

_Not when his best friend was lying in St. Mungo's hospital and would probably never wake up._

_He sat huddled in a chair in the corner of her room. He had arrived five hours ago, just after he received word that Cory had been injured._

_He looked around the room, trying desperately to avoid staring at the prone figure on the bed._

_Mr. Potter was pacing the room quietly, occasionally rubbing his brow. Mrs. Potter was sobbing loudly in a chair next to her daughter, clutching her hand for dear life. James, Severus' sworn enemy, was sitting on the floor, his back against the wall as he stared unblinkingly across from him. He had bandages wrapped around his arm, and a cut that marred his oh-so perfect face._

_But what really got to him was James' best friend, Sirius Black._

_Sirius Black, the man who hated Cory more than anyone he knew, was sitting next to his friend, hugging his knees as he closed his eyes and gnashed his teeth in anguish. Long dried tear tracks marked his face, showing that perhaps he had actually cared for a moment._

_But only for a moment._

_Severus had heard what had happened during the battle and he knew that Black only felt guilty that Cory had risked her life to save his, the life of an enemy._

_He swore to himself that he would never fight for the side that did this to her._

_Severus Snape was never known to keep promises._

* * *

_"Oww…"_

_James perked up at the whispered word and looked around the room. It was 2:00 A.M. and everyone seemed to have fallen asleep except for him. He couldn't sleep knowing that he might lose his twin._

_His other half._

_"Cory?" He whispered as he stood up, wincing as his sore bones creaked. He quietly shuffled to her bedside and peered at her closely, readying to pull out his wand._

_Her eyes shot open._

_James stumbled back, startled as he realized she was awake. Suddenly he was elated. His sister wouldn't die! A grin made its way onto his face as he cast a light charm, flooding her bed with light._

_She stared at him in annoyance._

_"James, it's the bloody a.m. Can you not be obnoxious for ten seconds?" She hissed._

_"Cory, you're alive!" He shouted. He didn't care that he woke up his parents; they needed to know she was awake._

_"Well, yes. I'm breathing and I have a pulse, so I think that constitutes as living." She muttered in annoyance. She made a move to sit up in her bed, but winced as pain shot through her back._

_"Yeah, you probably shouldn't move. The doctors said you came in with four fractured vertebrae, they had to do major reconstruction on your back. It'll be sore for a while." He informed her._

_"Ya think?" She moaned sarcastically. James laughed, and looked away as he heard his parents wake up._

_"Cornelia?" He looked in surprise at his mother's raspy voice._

_"Mum?" Cory asked groggily. _

_"Oh, Cornelia! You're awake! Oh thank Merlin! I thought you were going to die. Oh please don't ever scare me like that again!" She mother began to sob on Cory, which left her in the awkward position of trying to comfort the distraught woman. She timidly rubbed circles in her back, shifting uneasily as she glanced around the room._

_"It's okay, mum. I'm fine. Really." She whispered convincingly. Their mother looked up, angered, but before she could burst, their father intervened._

_"We're so happy you've awoken, Cory." He said lovingly, pulling her into a gentle hug. James laughed when he saw Cory's face contort in pain, but didn't say anything._

_"Why are you guys here at 2:00 in the morning? You could've come back tomorrow." Cory groaned._

_"We wanted to make sure you were okay." James laughed._

_"I'm fine. I just want to sleep." She whined. Her mother immediately sat up._

_"You get some sleep sweetie. We'll be back in the morning." She said caringly. Cory stared at her uncomfortably._

_"Yeah, bye." She crinkled her nose. Her father laughed and pulled his family together before they disappeared with a 'pop'._

_Cory sighed and closed her eyes._

_She awoke the next morning to shouting outside of her hospital room. She blinked owlishly and attempted to sit up in her bed, wincing as pain shot through her back. _

_"What the--?" She started groggily as she rubbed her eyes. The clock on the opposite wall told her that it was 10:00 but her body felt like it hadn't slept at all._

_She cautiously peered towards the door where the shouting was coming from. She managed to catch a glimpse of blonde hair and then of black hair, and a thought crossed her mind._

_"Lucius?" She said out loud in surprise. Suddenly the door swung open and Lucius, Severus, and an extremely irate James barged in. _

_"Hello, boys." She said cheerfully. Severus was quiet for a moment before his mask broke. He charged towards his best friend and all but collapsed on her bed, pulling her close as gently as possible._

_"I really thought you had died." He said softly, his voice sounded broken._

_"Never. I'm immortal remember?" She laughed. Severus just stared at her seriously._

_"Too soon for jokes?" She asked quietly. Severus nodded._

_"Whatever, mate. What are you lot doing here, anyway?" She asked curiously, directing the question to Lucius._

_"I heard what happened." The blond said gently. James looked angry and was about to burst out once again, but Cory silenced him._

_"As if you didn't know about it before." She said off-handedly. Lucius shrunk back, shocked._

_"I didn't." He said convincingly. Cory hummed in agreement, but seemed distracted._

_"Any idea of where Regulus is?" She asked conversationally._

_"That bastard doesn't care about anyone but himself." A new voice came from the doorway. _

_Sirius Black had arrived._

_"I hadn't asked _you_, Black." She responded, annoyed._

_"Just thought you should know that Regulus doesn't care about you." He informed her with a shrug. Cory rolled her eyes. She knew this boy well enough to know that anything that came out of his mouth was utter rubbish._

_"Alright." She said sarcastically._

_"Apparently as soon as he saw your name under the 'severely injured' list in the Prophet Wallburga had him under lockdown. His whole room is warded off from the inside. He can't get out." Lucius said conversationally._

_"I swear that woman is insane." She cursed under her breath._

_"Why does she even care if he sees me? Afraid I'll corrupt him from the ways of the dark?" She laughed._

_"Probably. It _is_ Wallburga, after all." Severus and Cory winced._

_"So there was a list in the Prophet? Does that mean that it was--well, I mean, of course it was--it's just, there were a lot of people, and buildings were down and--you know?" Cory's thoughts managed to turn into a jumble of words before they came out of her mouth, causing her to blush as Severus and Sirius laughed at her, the former out of adoration, while the latter out of malice._

_"It was bad, Cory." James said quietly, averting his eyes._

_"How bad?" She replied firmly, staring him down._

_"Thirty-seven killed, another fifty severely injured, they may or may not make it, it's still in the air." He said solemnly._

_"Bloody hell…it was a massacre." She said in wonder, her eyes dulling._

_"That's what they're calling it. The Diagon Alley Massacre." Severus said quietly. The air in the room turned cold and each occupant stared each other down._

_No one knew just how significant that battle would be._

* * *

_"Sirius! Psssttt! Sirius!" A whisper penetrated the still air of the hospital room. Cory had left her bed (after a few minutes of groaning in pain) and had limped her way over to where Sirius was snoozing quietly in a chair. Her family hadn't gone home the entire day, and Sirius had stayed with them._

_"Black! Wake the bloody hell up!" Cory yelled quietly as she jostled him. Blacks head shot up as he stared at her in alarm._

_"What the hell do you want, Corny?" He groaned, settling back into a comfortable position._

_"Don't bloody go back to sleep!" She groaned. "I need you to show me where you live!" _

_"I live at your house." He said slowly._

_"Not my house you dolt, _your_ house, the Black manor!" She cried, dragging him out of the room so they could talk freely. Cory was still sore, but she needed to get this done now._

_"Grimmauld Place? It's under so many enchantments, the only way you could get in is if you were a Black." He said off-handedly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes._

_"So take me there." She said simply. Sirius stared at her wide-eyed._

_"I'm not going back." He said disgustedly._

_"Oh yes you are. You owe me for what I did in the Alley. Take me to Regulus, and I'll let it go." She bargained._

_"No. You're supposed to be resting anyway. James would kill me if I let you out of my sight." He answered honestly. Cory furrowed her eyebrows._

_"You don't actually care though, so why does it matter."_

_"It doesn't. I just don't want my best friend to hate me for letting you go." He raised an eyebrow._

_"Black, just take me to your brother." She rolled her eyes. Black matched her movements exactly._

_"Fine, but when dear old mum kills you, I'll be the first to say I told you so." He said sarcastically. Cory shook her head and grasped his hand in disgust._

_"What are you doing?" He sneered._

_"You're going to apparate us there." She said as if it were obvious._

_"I can only apparate us to the outside. You'll have to get into Regulus' room some other way." He warned before he pulled out his wand._

_"Sounds good." He quickly spun and Cory squeezed her eyes shut. While she loved apparating by herself, side-along was not so fun._

_When she next opened her eyes, she saw that she had landed on the side of a large house. It was dark outside, which gave the house an even more chilling feel, but Cory shrugged it off and gently pried herself out of Sirius' grip._

_"Regulus' room is up there." He pointed towards a third-story window. The lights peaked through the curtains and an occasional shadow drifted over it. Cory looked around. There was a tree branch that was less than a foot off of the side of his window. She could probably make the jump._

_"So I'll climb that tree and get in?" She asked quietly, her mind racing._

_"Yeah, just don't get caught. Mum hates your family, and she's even yelled at Regulus a few times about you, so just watch yourself." He warned. Cory tried to hold back her surprise. Why did he care?_

_"Alright."_

_"And we're even now. We don't owe each other anything, so let's just go back to the way things were." He said cautiously. His eyes were filled with uncertainty as he peered into her hazel ones._

_"As if I'd have it any other way." She rolled her eyes light-heartedly. The two stared at each other for a moment with a new-found respect before Sirius turned away._

_"Oh, and one more thing. You shouldn't be out for more than an hour. I'll try to cover for you for so long, but just be back at the hospital soon." He grinned surreptitiously and apparated away._

_Cory shook her head in confusion. She didn't think that she would ever understand the Black family._

_Cory sighed and turned back to the tree that led up to Regulus' room. There was a branch that was about one foot away from the lit window. She assumed she could make the jump._

_She stared at the tree calculatingly before taking a few steps forward, grabbing hold of the first branch. She pulled on it gingerly, testing her weight, before gently pulling herself up, whimpering quietly as it strained her back. _

_The branch was about six feet up from the ground, so when she had pulled her body onto it, she leaned against the trunk tiredly, before trekking upwards once more. After climbing up a few more branches, the last branch was across from her. She expertly pulled herself onto it and shimmied towards the end. She straddled the branch and looked around her, before pulling off a small piece of the branch above her and sticking it out in front._

_  
"Reg!" She whispered loudly, tapping the stick against his window. She tapped it a few more times until she heard quiet footsteps coming towards the window. She braced herself, waiting to see what was behind the curtain._

"_Core?!" Came her best friend's frantic voice. His black hair was messy and his eyes were tired and worn. His skin was pale except for the five o'clock shadow that had formed, and his clothes were dirty and wrinkled._

_He was a mess._

_"Regulus! What happened to you?" She asked quietly, scooting forwards as far as she could. Regulus leaned against the window frame, closing the distance._

"_Forget me, what about you? What are you doing here?" He asked anxiously, looking around to make sure no one was there._

"_I'm here to see you." She explained as though it were obvious._

"_Well, come in then. I don't want mum to hear you." He looked fearful. Cory shrugged, and warned him to stand back before she stood shakily on top of the branch._

"_Be careful!" Regulus reprimanded. Cory threw him a dirty look and leapt the distance between the branch and his room. She cleared the window, but the top of her foot got caught in the frame, causing her to tumble forwards and land in a heap on the floor. Regulus gasped and rushed to pull her up as she massaged her already injured back._

"_Are you crazy?!" He shouted._

"_Shh! Keep your voice down, you don't want your mum to hear us, do you?!" _

"_Sorry, but I think this warrants some shouting!" He groaned, but toned his voice down._

"_It's alright."_

"_So what _are_ you doing here?" He asked quietly as he led her to his bed. She sat down gingerly, as did he, and turned to face him._

"_I had to see you," she confessed. "I heard your mum wasn't letting you out of the house, and I needed to make sure you were alright."_

"_You had to make sure _I_ was alright? What about you? You were in the Diagon Alley Massacre, Core. You were on the severely injured list. I didn't know if you were going to live." He said quietly._

"_I'm alive." She grinned feebly._

"_Thank Merlin." He smiled tiredly._

"_Are you alright though?" She asked with concern._

"_I've been driving myself mad with worry. Mum won't let me talk to anyone. She has me under lockdown." He whispered._

"_I heard, word on the snake vine is that you're trapped in here until the end of the summer. Your mum's afraid that I'm going to corrupt you with my good moral character." She laughed._

"_Yeah, as if you could." He smirked._

"_Too bad I already have." She laughed again._

"_Well, now I know you're alright." Reg said after a moment of silence. The two met eyes and Cory stared at him for a moment._

"_There is one other reason I came here tonight." She admitted._

"_What is it?"He asked, still staring into her eyes._

"_This." She whispered, and slowly closed the gap between their faces. She pressed her lips to his and felt a spark surge through her body. Instead of pulling away (which was her immediate reaction) she pushed harder, and let the passion consume her. When they broke away a moment later, Cory could feel heat rising into her cheeks._

"_That's what you wanted to say?" He asked with wonder._

"_Yeah." She laughed awkwardly._

"_Does that mean…?" He trailed off._

"_That we're together? I guess. This week taught me that we don't have much time, Reg. Where are we going to get in life if we're afraid of taking chances?"_

"_Nowhere." He whispered._

"_Exactly. And I don't know about you, but I'm not headed in that direction."_

* * *

Cory wasn't sure how long she had been sitting in the same spot, but when she heard voices in the hallway outside of her classroom, she figured it was time to continue with her day. She stood from her seat at her desk, pocketed Regulus' letter, wiped away any remnants of her make-up, and walked out of her room.

The hallway was deserted, which left Cory plenty of time and space to wander down to the dungeons. She let her mind wander as her feet walked the ever-familiar path towards her old lair. The dungeons had been her home for years.

She grinned when she finally reached her destination, and slammed the door open, creating a commotion and a grand entrance.

Instantly 20 pairs of NEWT level potions eyes stared at her in awe. Nobody dared to interrupt Snape's class.

"What do you want?" Severus groaned from his spot at his desk where he had been grading papers. Cory rolled her eyes and sauntered over to him.

"I was bored." She said simply, her eyes dancing with laughter.

"So you interrupt my seventh year potions class? They're dealing with very volatile substances right now, Cory. They cannot get distr—" The potions master was interrupted by a sharp explosion that emitted from the back corner of the room. Both heads whipped towards the back.

"EVANSON!" He barked as he stormed over there. Cory took the opportunity to look around the classroom. It was a lot gloomier than she had remembered. She glanced at the board and a thought formed in her head.

"Sev, they're making a Sleepless Dream potion, that's not volatile at all." She said monotonously. Severus groaned from the corner.

"You said it was volatile!" Came two identical voices from the middle of the room. Cory turned her head and noted that it was the Weasley twins. No wonder Severus was out of whack.

"Silence, Weasleys." He growled before turning back to scold Evanson.

"You two must drive him crazy." Cory stated as she glanced at the two Gryffindors.

"That's our job—" Fred started.

"It's not like we like Snape anyway." George groaned. After spending many Saturdays at Headquarters, Cory had found it surprisingly easy to tell the two apart. Fred generally invented their crazy schemes, and George was the one to put them into action. It also helped that Fred had a small mole on the side of his neck.

"It's _Professor_ Snape, and he isn't that bad." She reprimanded.

"Well, _Professor_ Snape actually is that bad." Fred bit.

"Yeah, he favors the Slytherins." George followed.

"I realize he is a bit biased, but in school Gryffindors were really cruel to him." She defended.

"Like your brother?" Fred pressed.

"Yes, like my brother, and Sirius, _and_ Remus."

"Professor Lupin wouldn't hurt a fly!"

"Unless it was that time of the month." George giggled.

Cory sent the two a look which caused them to quiet down.

"Cory, can you please stop distracting my class?" Snape asked in exasperation from his desk. Cory groaned.

"I'll see you boys in class." She said sternly before walking away.

"Sev, did you read the letter from Regulus?" She asked quietly as she stood beside him behind his desk.

"Not now. Class is almost over, I have a free period next, and we can talk about it then." He hushed her before turning to the class.

"Your potions should now be a purple-ish color—"

"—Lilac—" she interjected.

"—A lilac color. This means that it needs to simmer for a week. I will watch over them and we will return to this potion in one week's time." He finished before flicking his wand. Instantly 10 cauldrons zoomed into a back room, causing the occupants to stare wildly.

"Well, what are you all waiting for?! Class dismissed!" He shooed them away with a quick hand motion and a glare on his features, causing Cory to stifle a giggle behind him.

When everyone had rushed out of the classroom, Cory turned to her best friend, a ghost of a smirk on her lips.

"They sure got out of here fast." She taunted.

"I'm intimidating, as teachers ought to be." He huffed.

"The only teacher that intimidated me was Professor Secan, remember, our old Arithmancy teacher?" She shuddered at the memory.

"Eugh, that old hag?" Severus laughed.

"I hated that woman." She wrinkled her nose. "And it doesn't do to have children hate you Severus. They aren't afraid, just annoyed."

"Can we talk about why you're actually here instead of my apparently awful teaching habits?" He rolled his eyes.

"You don't even like children!" She exclaimed.

"CORE!"

"Sorry." She blushed.

"So you finally read Reg's letter?" He asked quietly as she sat down on his desk. He took his spot at his desk chair and stared at his friend in wonder.

"Yeah, I just found it after I taught my fifth years." She confessed. Severus looked like he wanted to interject, but continued.

"What did it say?" He pushed.

"It basically said that we wouldn't have worked out because they would eventually kill me. He was planning to propose, but he didn't, and that I was free to fall in love with whoever I pleased after this." She said monotonously.

"No surprise there. I know he was going to propose to you, but he never told me why he didn't." He admitted.

"It's too late now." She sighed. "But what did yours say?"

"Mine told me to look out for you mostly. And to get out of the Dark Lords service if I could." He shrugged.

"He wanted you to look after me? He knows how well that would have turned out!" She laughed.

"Yeah, you hate being coddled." He smiled slightly.

"Is it bad that I still miss him?" She asked uncertainly after a moment.

Severus thought for a moment.

"No, I don't think so. You never really had the chance to grieve, did you? I mean, you grieved for your parents, but after Regulus died you sort of just threw yourself into your work. And then by the time James and Lily died, you couldn't even think about them, so you just went off to America where you once again buried yourself in your work." He reasoned.

"To tell you the truth, I don't think you ever got over James' death either." He continued.

"I think I did. I think after his funeral I realized that I tried my hardest with James and that nothing could be done. I always felt that I could have done better with Regulus. Like if I had pushed him a bit harder when he was 17 to not join the Death Eaters, then he wouldn't have died. Even after James stopped talking to me, I still looked out for him on the battle field. I tried so many times to keep him out of Voldemort's clutches, but he still got there in the end." She said sadly.

"Cory, you can't honestly blame yourself for Regulus' death." He said seriously.

"Why not? If I had worked a little harder as an auror to take him down, no one would have had to deal with the losses that they endured in the First War."

"That's stupid." Cory looked up in annoyance. "No offense or anything, I mean, you're an excellent auror, but what could you have done? You know Harry is the one who has to defeat him."

"Yeah, but I dunno…survivors guilt I guess." She shrugged.

"If Reg was listening right now, what do you think he would say to you?"

"That I was being an idiot." She said quietly, as if a child being reprimanded.

"Exactly, because you are." He said firmly. The two friends sat in silence for a moment.

"Want to go to the kitchens? You missed lunch." He asked quietly, standing up. She looked at his offered hand thoughtfully.

"You go ahead and ask for a turkey sandwich. I just wanna reminisce in here for a moment." Severus smiled sadly.

"Living in the past is going to get you nowhere, Core."

"And I'm not headed in that direction, Sev. I promise."

* * *

**A/N: FINALLY!! I UPDATED! This was 16 pages and almost 6000 words! I'm SOOOOO sorry that this took so long to get out. It was supposed to be out a month ago, but then my computer crashed and I still don't have it back, so I've only been able to write small parts at a time. For that, it was uber long! Not much happened in the last half as it did in the past, but the plot is progressing! YAY!! Thanks to everyone that reviewed: ****raveygirl17, Slice of American Cheese, kat183, EverlastingDreamer, OnimeKyo-Kyuubi,l getupandgo, Owl Emporium, ****and ****Baying-for-the-moon****! I LOVE YOU ALL!! This was originally supposed to be out a couple of hours ago, but I could never save the lines in the right spot, so i fixed it, and here you go!!**

**SHAWN'S BACK BABY!!**

**-Shawn!!**

**PS. For this chapter, just to see how many people read the authors note, why don't you tell me what you think about the upcoming TWILIGHT movie?**


	10. Filling In

**Story Title: Crimson and Clover**

**Chapter Title: Filling In**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, Hogwarts, or anything from the books. I own Cory and any concepts, ideas, people or places that you may not have heard of, unless I say otherwise. The title comes from the song "Crimson and Clover" by Tommy James and the Shondells, though I originally got it from the song "A Praise Chorus" by Jimmy Eat World.**

**Warning: Mild Language, and some corny romance!!**

**Story Summary: **_**Cornelia "Cory" Potter was never the perfect child, no, that was left up to her brother James. Her twin brother, James Potter, who was younger than her by a mere 7 minutes, but was still younger nevertheless, was always better than she was. Always the one who was slightly better at flying, the one with the wicked sense of humor, the one with the good looks, the one who could get away with everything, the **_**Gryffindor. **_**When the hat shouted out that Cory was destined to forever adorn the Slytherin crest on her robes, her life went down the tubes. Her parents still loved her, sure, but James never forgave her. After his death, she moved to America, but now that Voldemort is back, she's been called back to fight. And fight she will. A Slytherin never backs down from battle, no matter which side they're on, and Cory is ready to take on her old friends, while fighting alongside her old enemies.**_

* * *

_The end of summer came quickly for the Potters, and before Cory was aware, September 1st was upon her. The morning started out like any other morning: she groggily tumbled out of bed and took a quick shower, but before she could go downstairs to eat her breakfast, she was all but plowed over by Sirius Black, leaving her in quite a mood. "Watch where you're going, Black!" She spat angrily as she picked herself up off the ground. Her spine still wasn't fully recovered, leaving her with a sore back and a cranky mood._

"_Sorry, Corny. Just trying to get everything packed!" He smiled charmingly at her before sprinting off in another direction, leaving her in a fog._

"_Okay…?" She squinted before walking the length of the hallway to her brother's room._

"_You all set to go?" She asked curiously as she leaned against his doorframe._

"_Sure, do you know what time we're leaving?" He asked as he slipped a belt around his waist. Cory looked away for a moment in thought._

"_Probably around 10. Its 9:30 right now, so we should go get breakfast."_

_James nodded in agreement and joined her out in the hall. The two shared a glance before racing down the steps and through the living room. Cory let out a triumphant 'whoop' as she reached the kitchen first._

_"Hell yeah! Slytherins do it best!" She grinned as James scowled._

_"You're just upset that you're on the losing side."_

_"Yeah, for once!" He taunted. Cory burst into laughter._

_"Which explains why Slytherin has won the Quidditch and House cup for the past 5 years in a row? Funny how I've been on the team all those years…" she trailed off, sending her brother a dirty look. She turned away, pulling a box of Wizard O's out of the cupboard. James followed her lead, grabbing bowls and spoons, leaving Cory to get the milk._

_"You just wait. This is our year! I'm Quidditch captain now! We're going to win!" He said indignantly as Cory prepared his bowl of O's. Cory sent him another look._

_"Take if from someone with experience, Jamsie. Being a captain isn't all that fun." She warned, popping a spoonful of O's into her mouth._

_"Slytherins are just too stupid to understand what you're trying to tell them, that's all." He informed her with a mouthful of cereal. It didn't even faze her anymore, which she found awful._

_"This is coming from the Gryffindor captain, who has to teach Sirius Black plays?" She scoffed. James dared to look angry for a moment, but nodded his head in agreement._

_"What about me?" Came a perky voice from the stairs. Cory whipped her head around, causing James discomfort as he took a faceful of hair._

_"Oye!" He shouted indignantly. Cory laughed loudly at his face, before shoving another spoonful of O's into her mouth. _

_"Where's mum and dad?" She asked with her mouthful. Sirius cringed but James just rolled his eyes._

_"Dad's at the office, he's gonna come see us off at the station, and mum is off doing who knows what." He said, taking another bite. Cory rolled her eyes; her mother was always off doing who knows what._

_"Are we just apparating ourselves to the station? And meeting dad there?" She asked curiously._

_"Yep." _

_"Excellent. Then I can introduce Reg to dad." She said quietly, a small grin playing on her face._

_"Why does dad need to be introduced to that Slytherin?" James asked rudely, before sending his best friend an apologetic look._

"Didn't I tell you? We're together now." She said quickly before shoving another spoonful into her mouth. She looked down sadly to see that she only had a few more O's in her bowl.

_"WHAT?!" James and Sirius cried. James' reaction was quite comical, as he had O's in his mouth at the time, which landed all over the table. Cory grimaced. _

_"Yeah, he asked me out over the summer." She shrugged before draining her bowl. James' jaw dropped, and the glare on Sirius' face made Cory stifle a laugh._

_"When did he have the opportunity to ask you out, if I may ask?" Her brother asked menacingly as he stood from the table. _

_"The day of the massacre." She said easily, placing both bowls into the kitchen sink. James huffed._

_"And why am I just hearing about this now?!" He cried, glaring at her. Sirius had joined him at the counter, so the two stood shoulder to shoulder, glaring._

_"Um…you never asked?" She smiled weakly. James stared at her hard before shaking his head in annoyance._

_"What's so wrong about it anyways?" She protested before he could walk away._

_"He's a Slytherin--"_

_"--I'm a Slytherin!"_

_"He's probably a Death Eater--"_

_"--No he isn't--" _

_"--and there is no way in hell he is touching my baby sister!" He shouted vehemently. The room was silent for a moment before Cory piped up._

_"Umm…James, I'm older than you." She said quietly. James sent her a vicious glare._

_"Sorry, but it's true!" She grinned feebly. James rolled his eyes and exited the room in a dramatic fashion, leaving the two arch-enemies in the room together._

_"Why are you dating that scum?" Sirius asked with honest curiosity. Cory was about to send a scathing comment, but held back._

_"Because he's sweet and nice and he's been there for me forever. He's pretty much everything you aren't." She said off-handedly._

_"I'm all those things!" Sirius protested._

_"You aren't nice, you aren't sweet, and the only person you have ever been there for is James." She said knowingly._

_"Hey, I've been there for Regulus plenty of times." He spat._

_"Oh yeah? Then how come you left without even saying good-bye?" She hissed. "How come you left without even asking if Regulus wanted to get away too?" _

_"I--I didn't--" He sputtered. Cory sent him a dirty look._

_"Save it for someone who cares, Black." _

_"CORE!" The moment Cory, James, and Sirius apparated onto Platform 9 ¾ Cory was attacked in a hug._

_"Reg?" She laughed as the two separated. James and Sirius stood awkwardly to the side, a glare placed on both their features._

_"How have you been?! How are you feeling?!" He asked quickly, taking in all her features with one look. Cory laughed again at his antics._

_"I'll tell you all about it on the train. For now…I think it's about time you officially get introduced to my brother. Regulus, this is my brother James. James, this is my boyfriend, Regulus." She pushed the two together and stood at the side with Sirius. Both boys looked uncomfortable, before Regulus stuck out his hand._

_"It's nice to officially meet you, James." He said confidently. James hid a look of disgust before taking the younger boy's hand._

_"Mess with my sister and I'll kill you." He said menacingly. Regulus didn't flinch, but just stared back._

_"I wouldn't dare mess with Cory." He promised. James stared into his eyes a moment longer before turning away. Cory's eyes widened in surprise. James had turned his back on an enemy. It seemed there was a bit of trust in him after all._

_"So Core, did you get Head Girl?" Regulus asked conversationally as the four stood awkwardly waiting for Mr. Potter. The seventh year boys slapped their hands over their foreheads simultaneously, dreading the impending conversation._

_"NO!" She exploded angrily. Her face had turned bright red in the span of two seconds, causing Regulus to back up in alarm._

_"Oh…who did?" He asked timidly, shrinking down. James laughed quietly to the side._

_"Lily Evans, that's who." She growled quietly. _

_"Ew…why?" Regulus crinkled his nose. James glared at the younger boy, who paid him no mind._

_  
"Because precious Dumbledore wants his precious Gryffindors to have the precious head spot! There hasn't been a Slytherin head for centuries." She cried._

_"Actually, the last one was about 20 years ago. Tom Riddle, a half-blood or something." A new voice entered the conversation. At the sound, Cory let out a squeal before launching herself at the body._

_"SEV!!!" Severus caught her with ease as the two best friends held each other quietly. Cory buried her face into his shoulder as he pulled her close, placing a delicate kiss on her hair._

_"Why would a halfsie be in Slytherin?" Regulus asked distastefully from the side, breaking up the moment between the two. Cory whirled around, a glare set on her face._

_"I thought we were passed all this blood purity bullshit, yeah?" She growled. Severus backed up, aligning himself with Regulus._

_"We still agree with it, Core. We just don't agree with what the Dark Lord is doing about it." Severus said confidently. The three Slytherins spoke in quiet voices, but seemed to have forgotten their Gryffindor companions._

_"That's funny, coming from you." She spat, rolling her eyes._

_"Core--" Sev cut in desperately._

_"You know, I can't believe you two. How can you buy into that pure-blood supremacy crap?! You are aware that's all it is, right? CRAP!" Her voice reached a higher pitch as she spoke._

_"That's how I was bloody raised, Core." Regulus growled._

_"Your stupid brother was raised in the same bloody house as you were, and I don't see him spewing crap out like that. Well…that's a lie, but I don't see him talking about pure-blood elitism!" _

_"My brother is a damn fool." _

_"And apparently so are you. I'll be in the prefect's carriage, and don't expect to see me for the rest of the night." She said menacingly. She gracefully picked up her trunk and began to pull it away, only stopping when Severus laid a hand on her arm._

_  
"Core, you know why--"_

_"--Save it, Sev. I don't really give a shit right now." She gave them both a look of disgust before calmly boarding the train._

_"Nicely done, Snivellus." James spat as the two marauders circled the two Slytherins. Reg looked unalarmed, but Sev began to appear uneasy._

_  
"Yeah, way to go, Reg." Sirius rolled his eyes._

_"We're going to the head compartment, and I swear if I see you near my sister again, I'll have both your heads." James threatened, getting close in Regulus' face, as Sirius did the same for Severus._

_"I'm not going to take crap from you, Potter." Regulus spat._

_"You better watch your step, Slytherin." He said the name with disgust before turning on his heel and walking away in a fashion similar to his sister's. Sirius stared at the two for a moment, before joining his best friend on the train._

_Severus chanced a glance at his younger comrade. _

_"We fucked up." He said sadly._

_"When do we not?"_

* * *

The week passed without fault for Cory. After her little "episode" (as she had taken to calling them) with Sev earlier in the week, she hadn't dwelled on what could have been. Cory liked to believe she was making progress.

What was progressing though, were her classes with the older students. Everyone in years four and up were practicing the dueling game she had come up with, and she was having immense fun teaching them. The first years were learning basic disarming tactics, and she had begun to integrate the students, hoping to stop prejudice before it could start.

The second and third years were all starting the term learning about dark creatures and artifacts. This was a particularly boring subject that Dumbledore (and the blasted Ministry) felt was necessary for her curriculum, so Cory dredged through it dutifully, though not enjoying a minute of it.

But, Cory noted with a grin, it was Friday, and with the epic day came the chance for her to spend some quality time with her godson and nephew. Her first class of the morning (Slytherin and Gryffindor 7th years) had passed by rather dully, as the Weasley twins had been placed on separate teams for the game. Her second (and last) class of the day was after lunch, which consisted of 5th year Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. She found that while the rivalry between these two houses wasn't as fierce as that of the green and gold, it was still there, which didn't surprise her. Most pureblood children who didn't make it into Slytherin made it into Ravenclaw, otherwise they were cast out of their families.

She spent her free time "assisting" Severus in his potions classes. He wasn't a very good teacher, as he didn't really teach, he mostly just barked in people's faces. Which was unfortunate, as she had discovered that Timmy Perfins (a 6th year Hufflepuff) actually had an amazing aptitude for the class. Severus of course wouldn't believe her, but she made it her personal goal to ensure that her best friend didn't ruin the lives of _too _many children.

And so after her whirl-wind of a day, Cory found it relaxing to make a pot of tea in her kitchenette and wait for the arrival of the boys who had become a quick addition into her life. She set up the food and drinks (she had managed to have the houselves send up some crumpets) in the classroom, so all she had to do was wait for the boys to show up.

Draco was first.

"Hey, Aunt Core." He said happily as he poked his blonde head in. Cory grinned and beckoned him in with a nod of her head. She stood as he walked over and gave her godson a gentle hug, which he returned gratefully.

"I needed that." He admitted with a laugh.

"_Everyone_ needs a hug every now and then." She smiled. He nodded and sat down on one of the chintz chairs she had conjured, helping himself to some tea.

"Sure, Drake, don't even wait for the other guest to arrive." She said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"Hey, _I'm_ on time. If Potty---Potter! If Potter wants to be late, then that's his own accord." He ducked away from her flying hand and bit into a crumpet.

"Mmmm…these are good! Who made them for you?" He smirked. Cory narrowed her eyes.

"Okay, one, don't talk with your mouth full, and two, who says I didn't make them?!" She asked incredulously. Draco just laughed and stuffed the remaining pastry into his mouth. Cory made a noise of disgust, but was drowned out by the sound of her door opening. Both heads flew up to see Harry standing at the doorway sheepishly, his glasses slightly askew and his cheeks flushed.

"Wow, Potter. What happened to you?" Draco asked rudely. He was not fortunate enough to duck out of the way of Cory's flying hand this time, and began to nurse his throbbing head.

"Sorry I'm late, Cory. Umbridge just stopped me in the hall and gave me a detention. I wasn't even doing anything!" He protested loudly as he collapsed in the chair next to Draco. The Slytherin cast him a dirty look, which both Potter's cast off. Cory stood, pacing for a moment.

"You didn't do anything?" She prodded. She turned to see Harry shaking his head angrily, his big green eyes staring at her, hopeless.

"I swear I didn't do anything! I was just walking down this hall coming here and she stops me and starts rambling on about how I was supposed to be in the tower. Curfew isn't for three hours!" He exploded. Cory furrowed her eyebrows.

"I think she's trying to get to me by using you." She said seriously. The two boys stared at her in confusion.

"I pissed her off on my first day when I returned to the Ministry. Then I got the werewolf procreation act rescinded before I left office. That horrible woman isn't too pleased with me. I'll talk to her Harry, don't you worry." She promised before sitting down and pouring her nephew a cup of tea. He accepted it gracefully and quietly munched on a crumpet, leaving the air in the room awkward.

"So how has your week been going, both of you?" She asked wearily. Draco opened his mouth, but closed it, taking a moment to think.

"It sucked. All the teachers keep telling us about how its O.W.L. year and Snape is riding my arse more than ever!" Harry complained loudly. Draco once again stared at his year-mate in annoyance, but he paid it no mind.

"_Professor_ Snape likes to pick on everyone." Cory laughed.

"No, he favors the Slytherins! He hates Gryffindors! Especially me, for no good reason!" He groaned.

"He hates Gryffindors because none of them were particularly nice to us in school. And he hates you because he hated James. And you look like James. It's stupid, I know, but he tends to be very stubborn. I'm going to try and get him to lay off." She promised again.

"You don't have to. I can handle it." He huffed.

"Obviously not, or else you wouldn't be so bothered about it." She pointed out. Harry huffed again and sunk further into his seat. Cory looked expectantly at her godson.

"What?" He asked, crumbs spilling out of his mouth. She rolled her eyes.

"How's your week been? You needed that hug for a reason." She hinted.

"I don't want _Potter_ to know." He spat. Harry glared, but Cory waved him off.

"Anything you say in this room is confidential, Draco. Right, Harry?" She warned. Harry nodded, wide-eyed.

"I still don't want him to know. You don't tell your enemies your secrets, Core." Draco rolled his eyes.

"What the bloody hell did I tell you in class, hmm?" She fumed. "We are not enemies, we're on the same bloody side. Especially you lot, being children and all. You aren't a Death Eater, and he is not on the Light side yet. You are both still 15 years old for Merlin's sake!"

"He could still use it against me in the future!" He shouted back.

"Draco, I doubt whatever happened is anything that could possibly be used against you in the future." She huffed. Draco faltered for a moment.

"Alright, Pansy broke up with you—"

"—about time—" Harry snorted. The two Slytherins rounded on him.

"Shut up, Potter!"

"Harry be quiet, Draco didn't insult you when you were speaking. And Draco, please call him by his first name." She soothed.

"I bloody well will not!"

"Draco, calm down. Now tell me what else happened." She pressed.

"Well, dad sent me a letter about upholding the family name and stuff and about certain things that he does that I'm supposed to do next year." He said quickly. Cory managed to catch it, and glanced at the confused look on Harry's face. She silently cheered for her godson.

"I see. I'm going to have a little chat with your father. I don't know what he's thinking but he obviously isn't being very smart about it." She rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Cory, you're so overbearing sometimes, you know that? You should just let us handle our own problems." Draco said.

"I'm just trying to help. I mean, yeah I could let your dad do stupid shit…but I'm not going to because it would just end badly for all parties involved."

"Whatever you say." The three sat in silence for a few more moments.

"Well, I'm going to go back to the common room. I have a lot of homework to do. Namely _yours_, Cory." Harry laughed before standing. Cory followed him to the door.

"It's a good assignment." She laughed.

"Yeah, I imagine it could do some good. Hermione is pleased with the inter-house unity you have going on." He shrugged.

"You stay safe until next week, alright?" She warned.

"Yes, Cory." He laughed. The two stood awkwardly for a moment, before Cory pulled him into a hug.

"I'll see you in class and next Friday, same time?" She asked as he awkwardly hugged back.

"Yep, see you then." He said quickly before ducking out. She laughed; sometimes he and his father were nothing alike.

She joined her godson back at the table and settled herself into her seat, snacking on a crumpet. The two sat in a comfortable silence for a while, just satisfied with each other's company.

"I think I'd better go, Core. I have to send dad a letter tonight." Draco said standing. Cory joined him.

"Tell him I'll be in contact with him soon." She warned before pulling her godson in a tight hug. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and held her tightly for a few moments longer.

"Thanks, Core." He whispered.

"Anytime you need me, anytime at all, I swear I'm here for you. You just need to come find me. I promise you I won't judge you or take any sides. I will always care for you more than anyone. I swear it. If you ever have problems in school, with your father, with Professor Snape, you _come to me_. I will always choose your side and defend you, Draco. I will not let you make the same choices that your godfather, father, and Regulus made." She whispered. She felt moisture drip onto her shoulder, causing her to hold her godson tighter.

"I know, Core. It's just hard. He wants me to be something that I thought I wanted to be. Now I'm not so sure." He faltered.

"It's okay to have doubts. It's good, in fact. What Voldemort is doing is _wrong_, Draco. He is killing innocents for no reason." She tried to convince.

"But muggleborns are beneath us." He pulled away from her.

"No, Draco. They aren't. Hermione Granger could whoop your ass anytime." She shook her head. Draco gave a weak laugh.

"She's something else."

"I'll plan to see you in class and next Friday, then? Should _anything_ come up at all, I want to hear about it, alright? I love you, Drake, you aren't getting rid of me that easy." She laughed. Draco rolled his eyes playfully, but nodded.

"I'll see you." He waved half-heartedly before walking out the door.

Cory stood in the center of the room, heaving a sigh. With a wave of her wand she sent all the cups, furniture, and food back to its original homes. Just as she was turning towards her quarters to get some sleep, she heard sprinting coming down the Defense hall. She paused for a moment, waiting.

A blonde head poked itself in.

"Oh, by the way, Core. I love you too." He grinned before ducking out once more.

Cory's heart warmed.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry that took so long!!!! This chapter clocks in at 3,750 words and 10 pages. Not my best, but this is nothing more than a filler chapter anyway. Next chapter I'm probably going to jump ahead (at least in the 'flashback' part) to around Christmas time ish. There are plot points that need to be fulfilled if I want this to be a 25 chapter story. Oh, by the way, this is going to be a 25-ish chapter story ******** no sequels planned right now, but if you guys **_**want**_** I could probably post a prequel about Cory's Hogwarts years or Cory's life when she moved to America. Maybe both, I dunno, it's up to you guys. Let me know what you think! Thank you to all those who reviewed, and I would just like to say I'M NOT STOPPING THIS STORY!!! I don't know where people got that idea, but I wouldn't stop this story for anything, I love writing it. Please review and tell me what you think guys!!!**

**Oh, and what'd you guys think of the Twilight movie?**

**-Shawn **

**P.S. What do you guys think of the new layout?**


	11. Ring Around the Rosies

**Story Title: Crimson and Clover**

**Chapter Title: Ring around the rosies**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, Hogwarts, or anything from the books. I own Cory and any concepts, ideas, people or places that you may not have heard of, unless I say otherwise. The title comes from the song "Crimson and Clover" by Tommy James and the Shondells, though I originally got it from the song "A Praise Chorus" by Jimmy Eat World.**

**Warning: Mild Language, and some corny romance!!**

**Story Summary: **_**Cornelia "Cory" Potter was never the perfect child, no, that was left up to her brother James. Her twin brother, James Potter, who was younger than her by a mere 7 minutes, but was still younger nevertheless, was always better than she was. Always the one who was slightly better at flying, the one with the wicked sense of humor, the one with the good looks, the one who could get away with everything, the **_**Gryffindor. **_**When the hat shouted out that Cory was destined to forever adorn the Slytherin crest on her robes, her life went down the tubes. Her parents still loved her, sure, but James never forgave her. After his death, she moved to America, but now that Voldemort is back, she's been called back to fight. And fight she will. A Slytherin never backs down from battle, no matter which side they're on, and Cory is ready to take on her old friends, while fighting alongside her old enemies.**_

* * *

_Cory angrily stomped into the prefect's compartment, huffing loudly as she sat down. Her male counterpart, Marcus Avery, was already seated lazily in the corner, a book propped up against his knee. He looked up in surprise when she collapsed onto the bench across from him._

_"What's got your panties in a twist, Potter?" He drawled before taking a moment to blow a strand of stubborn blond hair out of his eyes._

_"None of your ruddy business, Avery." She spat. She ran a hand through her hair before reaching into her trunk. She settled against the edge of the bench in a similar manner to Avery's own before pulling her book onto her lap._

_"Advanced Potions 2? That's mighty ambitious for you, Potter." He smirked. Cory's hand twitched momentarily before she brought it under control. It wouldn't do to knock another prefect unconscious by way of a book._

_"And what are you reading, Avery? It must be Standard Book of Spells, year one, seeing as how you can't even manage a proper levitation charm." She rolled her eyes, focusing on her book._

_"Touchy, touchy" _

_"So any idea who head girl is this year? Since it obviously isn't you?" She ignored the underlying insult before answering in a civilized manner._

_"Lily Evans, obviously."_

_"Oh of course, obviously." He drawled in his incredibly obnoxious voice. Cory's hand twitched once more._

_The two sat in a tense silence for a few minutes longer before James burst in with a wild look in his eyes._

_"Lily! It's so nice to…" He trailed off, seeming to deflate when he saw that his true love was not present._

_"Where's Lily?" James asked, down-trodden._

_"Not here, obviously." Avery sneered. Cory gave a sharp sigh before flinging her book across the air and into Avery's face._

_"Oy! What the hell's the matter with you, Potter?" He asked angrily as he tried to clot the blood that was pooling at his nose._

_"You're face, now piss off." She spat. She stood up, bringing herself to full height. Avery did the same._

_"There aren't any other Prefect compartments!" He exclaimed._

_"Oh, I'm sorry; I meant piss off the train! Do everyone a favor and don't show up this year." She growled. She was at least a head shorter than the irate Slytherin, but that didn't stop the boy from quaking in slight fear._

_"You think you're so tough, Potter." He snarled. _

_"I don't have to be tough to take on you!" She growled. Avery raised his hand, ready to strike before he was hit by a jet of light, causing him to still in mid air._

_"Don't you lay a hand on my sister, Avery." James threatened quietly, his wand out. Cory glanced at her brother before pushing Avery down into his seat._

_"Thanks, bro, but I had it." She promised him as James pulled her out of the compartment._

_"Sure you did." He laughed. Cory leaned back against the wall thoughtfully, trying to gather her words._

_"Have you created a time table for the patrols?" She asked suddenly. James looked up in alarm._

_"The what?" _

_"Time tables, for patrolling the train. The Head Boy generally does that, but maybe if Lily knew that it was you, she'd have taken it off your hands, since you're _so_ irresponsible and what not." She said playfully. James didn't take the joke, but instead looked panicked._

_"Shit! No! I haven't! You gotta help me, Cory! I need to impress her!" He pleaded, placing his hands on her shoulders. Cory sent him an odd look before delicately removing his hands. _

_"You'll be fine." She promised._

_"No I won't!" _

_"Yes you will!"_

_"No I won't!" The twins began to argue._

_"Trust me, James!" _

_"She's going to hate me!" _

_"Who's going to hate you?" A new voice entered the conversation, causing the twins to whip their hands around in surprise. _

_"Uhh…uh…Lily! Hey! How have you been?" Cory sputtered, running a hand through her hair anxiously. James cast her one last pleading look._

_"Potter, what are you doing here?" The red-head asked disdainfully. Cory looked affronted._

_"Evans, I've been a prefect for the last two years, where the hell have you been?"_

_"Not you, Cory, your brother. What is he doing here?" _

_"Oh…well, you see, he was made Head Boy." She faltered._

_"HAS DUMBLEDORE GONE INSANE?!" Cory winced at the pitch that Lily's voice seemed to achieve before plugging her ears with her two fingers._

_"Merlin, Evans, break the sound barrier?"  
_

_"Sorry." She didn't look apologetic._

_"Well, Lily, looks like we'll be working together." James' looked nervous, and his hand twitched, as though resisting the urge to comb his dark locks back._

_"Brilliant." She spat sarcastically before stalking into the Head's compartment. The Head compartment was adjacent to the Prefect compartment, and only allowed the two Head's in. _

_James glanced at his sister, who met his eyes._

_"Thanks, sis." He rolled his eyes, before following her. Cory glanced between the two compartments._

_"James and Lily…Marcus Avery…James and Lily…Avery…" She made a scale with her hands as she spoke allowed before nodding decisively._

_"Uhh…Cory, not to be rude, but you know this is the Head's compartment, right?" Lily asked quietly from her spot on the bench. James sat across from her, glaring outside the window, his arms folded like a child._

_"Yeah, James just left this in my trunk by accident." She fished a sheet of parchment out of her pocket before chucking it into his lap. He looked up in surprise._

_"What is it?" Lily asked curiously._

_"The patrol schedule he made for the train ride." She sent a smirk towards her brother, who mouthed back a thank-you._

_"Wow, Potter, I'm impressed." Lily admitted, glancing at him appraisingly._

_"Umm…thanks Lily!" He said earnestly, before calming down slightly. "Uh…I mean, well, Cory told me that Head Boy's usually write them and I figured I'd go ahead and do it, since it's the responsible thing." _

_"The responsible thing, hmm?" She laughed. The three sat in awkward silence for a moment before the tell-tale sound of the warning whistle came from outside. Lily jumped, causing Cory to snicker, before she walked towards the door._

_"I'm going to go wait for the prefects. Coming, Potter…and Cory?" She faltered towards the end. Cory raised an eyebrow._

_"Be there in a minute, I need to talk to James." She explained before standing. James joined her, and the twins glanced at each other knowingly as she walked out. _

_Cory giggled as she nudged him in the ribs. James indignantly nudged back. She playfully sent him a light shove. He reciprocated with a harder shove. Cory huffed in annoyance before using all her weight to shove him back into the bench. He stumbled backwards before landing on the seat, his face filled with irritation._

_After a second the two burst into peals of laughter. _

_"I definitely owe you one for that time table, Cory." He told her, slinging an arm around her shoulder. Cory rolled her eyes._

_"Of course you do, you're just lucky you have an incredible sister like me, that's all." She informed him as they walked out of the compartment. _

_He laughed._

_

* * *

_

_The next morning, Cory entered the Great Hall in a lazy manner. Her swagger was cocky, vaguely resembling her brothers as she wore her famous Slytherin smirk. She glanced at her house table, spotting Regulus and Severus talking quietly to each other towards the middle of the table. In that moment she made a decision, and instead of turning left as she usually did, she proceeded straight ahead, her cocky demeanor holding as she sauntered towards the Gryffindor table._

_The boys didn't notice her until she was directly behind her brother, who was talking animatedly to Sirius. Sirius flicked his eyes upwards, noticing her presence before sending her a small nod in acknowledgment. She bowed her head slightly in return before shoving her brother over and wedging a small spot for herself in between him and Lupin._

_"What gives, Cory?" He asked flatly. She sent him a charming grin and grabbed a plate for herself, loading it with eggs and toast._

_"Yeah, what are you doing here, Corny, problems in paradise?" He accentuated her nick-name, but Cory had grown immune to it over the years. Her cocky façade dropped instantly at the question._

_"Look at them." She spat as she viciously ripped into a roll, sending a glare at the Slytherin table._

_"Um…look at who?" James wondered allowed, glancing in confusion at the aforementioned table.  
_

_"Severus and Regulus!" She cried. "They're talking and having a grand old time, not even upset by the fact that we haven't spoken in almost 24 hours! Do you know that this is the longest time we've ever gone without talking? Even in the summer we send multiple letters a day! This isn't normal! And they aren't even fazed!" _

_"Obviously they got tired of seeing your ugly mug." Sirius dead-panned. Cory didn't glance up from her breakfast, just continued to look miserable, thus missing the angry look James sent his best friend._

_Her brother cautiously laid a hand on her shoulder, rubbing soothing circles in it as she scrunched her face up, trying to keep her emotions in check._

_"Why don't you try talking with them?" He asked softly. He was completely focused on his hurting sister at that point, causing him to miss the pair of emerald eyes that were looking on in confusion. Surely he would have ruffled his hair had he noticed._

_"No." She started suddenly. "I refuse to crawl back to them. They're the ones that are wrong! You saw what Voldemort and his stupid followers did to us this summer! It's like they don't even care that I got hurt!" _

_"Not that I advocate your friendship with Snivellus or anything, but don't you think you're being a little harsh on him? I mean, you didn't see him when you were at St. Mungos. He was torn up." Sirius said sincerely. Cory sent him a miserable glance before leaning onto James' shoulder._

_"If he cared then he wouldn't support those stupid ideas." She said firmly. James sent Remus a pleading look over her shoulder._

_"Well, maybe you ought to just let things blow over." Remus said, unhelpfully. She rolled her eyes._

_"It just bothers me that they aren't even bothered by the fact that we aren't talking." She sighed._

_"Anyone would be bothered not to talk to you." James promised. "Why do you think I still talk to you with that silly green and silver tie around your neck?" He asked playfully. Cory sent him a weak smile before giving him a slight shove._

_"I guess you're right, I mean, I am awesome." She laughed. James joined in, while the rest of his group looked a little lost. _

_"We know you're back to normal. Your head just swelled to the size of a small watermelon." He pointed out._

_"That was the size of your head when you came out of the womb." She said seriously._

_"It was not!" He protested._

_"It was too!" She said adamantly. "That's why I was so small! Your head was sucking up all the nutrients." _

_"How do you even know what the size of my head was?" He asked irritably._

_"Easy, I was born first, so I saw." She grinned. James rolled his eyes, he hated it when his sister pulled that card._

_"Miss Potter, may I ask what you are doing at this table?" A voice asked from behind. She glanced back to see a large man behind her._

_"Hello, Professor Slughorn! I'm just talking to my brother!" She said pleasantly. Slughorn was her head of house, and though he wasn't on her top teachers list, he had power, and Cory couldn't get on the wrong side of it._

_"Excellent, well, here is your time table." He said before walking away happily. Cory sent him a disgusted look over her shoulder._

_"I hate that man." _

_"I thought you loved potions." James asked in confusion, his mouth full of wizard o's._

_"Oh, I love potions, but I hate Slughorn. He's the pinnacle of Slytherin scum. The very Slytherin scum that got us our bad name. He's a filthy, unfit, disgusting, low-life, name-dropping piece of slime." She spat, once again taking it out on her defenseless bread. She cast a disturbed glance at the Slytherin table, where her two 'best friends' were talking to the rest of the upper years._

_"Looks like they got over you pretty fast." Sirius said softly. She glanced at him with a calculating look._

_"Well of course. Severus is supposed to be the Slytherin prince this year and Regulus has that spot poised for him once Sev graduates." She explained. The marauders looked confused, so she elaborated._

_"Every year has a prince and princess, so to speak. Two years ago it was Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix, and then last year it was Troy Pucey along with Alex Parkinson, this year it's supposed to be Severus and Narcissa. Basically, the Slytherin prince and princess are supposed to be the epitome of Slytherin in their year. They're cunning, sly, resourceful, smart, talented, and powerful. They generally come from well off families, and have natural leadership abilities. They aren't to be crossed, and if you do cross them, so help you Merlin, there's no chance in hell you're getting out alive." She finished solemnly._

_"I feel like you fit the role of princess a lot better than Narcissa would." James said seriously. _

_"Of course not. The Black family is a lot more powerful than ours in the pureblood circuit. Also, Narcissa is betrothed to Lucius, so a Black and a Malfoy together is sort of unbeatable. Add that to the fact that I'm notoriously against pureblood bigotry, and I'm out of the running. Nobody wants to follow someone who is going against Voldemort." She said darkly._

_"But what about Quidditch? You're the captain, and you're a prefect, doesn't that count for something?" Sirius asked._

_"On the pitch, they follow my orders, no matter what. In school-related matters they must follow my rules as a prefect, but in matters of internal affairs, that's all up to Narcissa and Severus, there, I have no leverage. Over the past couple of years I've managed to make a mark as an unofficial leader of the house. I've been involved for the past two years under the Malfoy-Black and the Pucey-Parkinson reigns, but that doesn't seem to matter to anyone else. Not that I care or anything." She said bitterly._

_"Of course not." James answered sarcastically. She sent him a withering look._

_"Shall I go bash skulls for you?" He asked gallantly._

_"No thanks, Mr. Knight-in-Gryffindor-robes. I'll be just fine, but until then, how bout we head to class, yeah?" She asked, taking a final bite out of her toast._

_"Sure, let's compare schedules." The two huddled together as James pulled out a piece of parchment. Sirius and Remus rolled their eyes at each other and engaged in light conversation, waiting for the twins to rejoin the real world._

_"Blimey, we've got every class together!" James exclaimed with a grin. Cory saw Sirius groan out of the corner of his eye, which led her to burst into giggles._

_"Except for these two." She pointed to two different spots on her schedule. "I have Arithmancy when you have a free, and I have Ancient Runes when you have Divination. Why you are in that class, I have no idea."_

_"Easy O."_

_"Easy O would be Ancient Runes. Professor Strip is probably the easiest teacher in this whole school. Right, Lupin?" She turned to the sandy-haired boy next to her. He blushed at the sudden attention he was receiving from the surrounding people but nodded all the same._

_"It's true, James, the class is a breeze."_

_"And here the whole family was, thinking you were some bloody genius because you keep getting O's in Ancient Runes!" He exclaimed indignantly._

_"I am a genius, buddy. That's why I got more O.W.L's than you." She teased._

_"You got two more O.W.L's than me." He said flatly._

_"But who got straight O's?" She egged._

_"You did." He said begrudgingly. _

_"And who didn't?" She continued._

_"Everyone else in the whole bloody school, Cory, will you stop it?" He snapped. Cory sent him a ruffled look._

_"Fine…sorry." He shrugged of her apology and bit into his toast._

_"Oy, Corny, what do we have first, then?" Sirius asked lazily._

_"Double defense." She said cheerfully, her eyes shining with excitement. Defense was her favorite class besides Potions._

_"Excellent. I'm taking you down in dueling this year." He laughed loudly. Every year at Hogwarts, the seventh years had a dueling championship that took the course of the year. There was only one winner, and he or she won an automatic referral into the Auror program (if they wanted) as well as extra marks on their Defense N.E.W.T's._

_"You wish, Black. You know I'm the best at defense." She said cockily. _

_"That's funny, considering how I could whip your arse." James said from beside her. Suddenly it was two against one, and Cory ignited at the challenge._

_"I could take either of you on any time, any where." She challenged._

_"Class. Now. We'll tell Professor Cavenaugh about it when we get to class. You versus me. James is my second, who's yours? Oh, that's right, no one'll save your arse now that the Slytherins won't talk to you." Sirius taunted._

_"Sirius, that was out of line." James growled, putting a protective arm around his sister's shoulder. Cory shook him off, a steel look in her eye._

_"No way, Jamesie. I'll take you on, Black." She glanced down the Gryffindor table, her eyes catching on something vibrant. "Evans! Be my second for a little duel that Black and I have planned for class?" She called down._

_The red head in question glanced up at the Slytherin. She looked at the marauders and then back at Cory, a sly smirk on her face. She nodded once before turning back to her friends. _

_Word of the duel spread like wildfire as soon as Cory mentioned it. It was well known that Black and Potter had a feud._

_"There you go, Evans is my second." She smirked to her brother, who now looked like he was in extreme amounts of distress._

_"Really, Corny, did you have to give the man a heart attack?" Sirius rolled his eyes, before chucking a roll at his best friend. He was non-responsive._

_"Shall we adjourn to your death house?" She asked loudly as she stood, hoisting her brother up with her._

_"You mean the defense classroom? Sure." Sirius rolled his eyes and stood up, followed by Lupin. The four left the hall in a loud commotion. Corry and James were at the front, with Sirius and Lupin lagging behind. Lily jumped up and joined them, flanking Cory._

_"Let's do this." _

* * *

"How many of you have had Madame Umbridge sit in on a lesson this year?" Cory asked her 7th year N.E.W.T. Defense class, which was comprised of all four houses.

About a third of the students raised their hands.

"Oh, and what classes has she done so far?" She rolled her eyes, twirling her wand carelessly in her hands as she leaned against her desk.

"Arithmancy." A Ravenclaw said from the side, she glanced at him, acknowledging his answer before heaving a sigh and pushing herself off her desk.

"Well, we have the lovely opportunity of having this woman sitting in on our class today, isn't that brilliant?" She asked sarcastically. At the statement, the entire class groaned, putting their wands away and pulling out their texts.

"What are you all doing?" She asked in confusion.

"We've heard from the other years that teachers don't do practical lessons when she does her evaluation." A Hufflepuff piped in. She stared at them bewildered.

"Have you lot even met me? Pull out your wands; we are going about this lesson as planned." She said firmly. With her eyes steeled she waved her wand at the chalkboard behind her, which instantly began to draw out her lesson for the day.

"Today we will be learning about the bludgeoning hex. This hex can save you in battle—"

"_Hem Hem_." Cory whipped her head around to the doorway of her classroom, where that vile_ toad_ stood, in her stupid pink cardigan.

Cory scoffed aloud.

"Madame Umbridge, how…deploring it is to see you." She trailed. Umbridge looked positively delighted, while a few Ravenclaws laughed, obviously having understood her meaning.

"I trust you received my memo about your class being evaluated today?" She asked in her sickeningly sweet tone. Cory turned her head to the Gryffindor section, gagging slightly.

"Of course I did. You sent it to me multiple times, and informed me about it at breakfast this morning…twice."

"Then you should just go about your class as you normally would, I will be naught but a fly on the wall." She grinned a horrid grin. Cory stiffened slightly, a delicate eyebrow raised.

"Now class, back to the bludgeoning hex. As I was saying this hex can save your life numerous ways in battle. It has saved me countless times, and while it is not the best way of disarming your opponent, it's still a great tool to have in your arsenal. Now, if you will look at the board and begin copying down your notes, you will notice that I have highlighted a few _key_ points of this hex. The purpose of this hex is to—"

"_Hem_ _hem_."

"—deliver a strong blow to the opponent. It's been known to break bones at its weakest casting, and shatter through skin at some of its strongest. It is very similar to the blasting hex in that it can cause severe physical damage; _however_ the bludgeoning hex can only be used on living beings, so don't try using this hex to chop down any trees anytime soon." Her feeble attempt at a joke earned a few laughs from her students, but she continued.

"You should also note the properties of this hex, as I promise you, you will be tested on it this year, and it's always good to know spell properties for your N.E.W.T. examinations. The spell has a very noticeable blue beam when cast. It is electric blue…the closest color I can reference it to would be Mad-Eye Moody's eye…Keep in mind that because it is so easy to spot, it can sometimes hinder you on the battlefield. Can someone name me a few ways that it would?" She asked the class, purposely ignoring Umbridge.

"It would take away the element of surprise?" Angelina Johnson asked from the front row. Cory bowed her head in acknowledgment.

"Next time raise your hand, Ms. Johnson, but yes. This spell _will_ take away any element of surprise you may have over your opponent, so find a way around using this spell if you're casting it in the dark or under any illusions. It's pretty much painting a big sign over your head that says 'I'm here, kill me now.'"

"Anyone else have anything they'd like to—"

"_Hem Hem." _Came Umbridge's cough, only more forceful.

"What can I help you with, _Dolores?_" She spat.

"I just wanted to ask you a few questions." She said smugly, her quill poised.

"And this couldn't wait until after class? You are disrupting a very important lesson, and I do not appreciate it. Flies on the wall are rarely seen nor heard, and right now I can see and hear you. Seems as though we have a problem, hmm Dolores?" She scathed.

"I will not be spoken to in that manner." She gasped, affronted. Cory raised her eyebrow, her wand pointing towards the door.

"And I will not have some suck-up woman enter my classroom and disrupt important lessons that may save their lives one day."

"And what will it save their lives from, Miss Potter? The Dark Lord? He's gone, Cornelia, and the Ministry, and _myself_do not appreciate the lies that you, Dumbledore, and Harry Potter are spreading to these children." She screeched, stepping forthuntil she was face-to-face with Cory. Cory towered over her easily, but kept her head away from her, trying to cool down.

"I have not said a _word_ about the supposed return of _Voldemort_ to any student in this castle, nor to anyone outside of it. I do not appreciate _false accusations_, Dolores, and I ask you not to make such a horrific mistake again." She said menacingly. The class stood in shock and awe, chilled to the bone by her tone of voice.

"Defense is _the_ single most important tool that these children have against_ anything _that is out there, _Ms._Umbridge. As an auror, it is my sworn duty to train future prospects in the force. And I-will-be-damned if you do anything to keep me from keeping my oath to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Do I _make_ myself _clear?" _She growled.

Umbridge quaked for a moment before regaining composure.

"Once again, Miss Potter, I will not be spoken to in that manner. And it appears, that things at Hogwarts are far worse than I imagined. Teachers disrespecting Ministry officials, students disrespecting their elders…Things need to change around here." She grimaced.

"Things have been fine for that last 1000 years, and I think we can manage without you and your silly Ministry." She mocked. Cory winced almost instantly; she had not meant to say that.

"I can have you tried and convicted for treason so fast you would think it was a disarming curse that hit you." Umbridge threatened.

"I dare you." She prodded.

Umbridge stared at her appraisingly for a moment before nodding, backing up, and turning away. The class was silent as she strode through the isle to the doorway.

"You will receive the results of your evaluation by the beginning of next week, Miss Potter. I pray you will keep your temper in check until you are removed from this school." She raised an eyebrow, daring Cory to take the bait.

"Is that a threat?" She snapped.

"It's a promise, Miss Potter. A promise." She said angrily before slamming the door shut.

Cory leaned back against her desk once again, her knuckles white as she gripped the sides. She rolled her shoulders to try and release the pent-up tension and calm herself down, but it was no use, she was too angry.

"Cory, are you mad? Now how are we supposed to learn anything when _you're _sacked and the Ministry finds some stupid replacement?" George Weasley asked loudly. This outburst immediately set the class into uproar, each student chastising Cory for treating the woman in a bad manner.

Cory rubbed her eyes tiredly, staring at the students argue to each other.

"Everyone, quiet, quiet, that's enough." She groaned. The class paid her no heed.

"QUIET!" She roared. This set the class back to their old positions as they stared at her nervously.

"You will find that I will not be sacked from this position. If anything, this will serve to get Umbridgeoff my back for the next few months. I have a number of high connections, both on the Board of Governors for the school, and in the Ministry itself. They know that I have a low-key temper, and any Slytherin is aware that it is pretty much a golden rule to keep emotions in check. All my connections will know that Umbridge must have been so insane that I snapped. Therefore, they will find the fault in her, not in me.

"Keep this in mind for later in life. It pays to keep a cool head around those in positions of power."

"But you were crazy around Umbridge, and she's more powerful than you are, isn't she?" Fred Weasley asked quietly.

"That's where you're wrong, Mr. Weasley. Umbridge has no power over me. I hold more leverage with the Minister than she ever could, as well as in the DMLE, and in this school. I'm simply too high for her to reach." She smirked.

"That's awfully cocky of you. Didn't you say first rule of battle is to never get cocky?" Fred prodded.

"Excellent deduction, Mr. Weasley. You all would do well to take note of him. He sees this world as a battle field, one fight after the next. It's cynical, but true. It's true, Mr. Weasley, that I am quite cocky, but that's in my nature. As long as I properly size up the opponent, I'll be okay. In a real battle, I never get cocky. But out here in the real world, where I know I have power over Umbridge, it's easy."

"Not sure I'm following." George groaned.

"Well then it's a good thing you won't be tested on this. The bludgeoning hex, however, will be on your first term exam, so bare with me for the next 20 minutes or so of the lesson." She laughed.

"The brilliant thing about this hex is that it…"

* * *

"This is the last time I assign every class an essay." Cory grumbled to herself as she marked up what seemed to be her 1,000th paper. She had given each year an essay to work on over the weekend, and now, Thursday night, she was paying for it. Her stomach made a loud noise, causing her to groan in agony and glance at the clock on her table.

"Okay…10 more and then I'll go to dinner." She compromised before picking up her quill once more. She had gotten to the 4th year essays on dueling styles and was immensely pleased with how much the students seemed to be learning.

She lost track of the growing pile of graded essays that lay beside her on her desk, being immersed in each one. It wasn't until she heard her door swing open that she even looked up. It took her eyes a moment to adjust, but when she did, she saw Severus standing with a plate full of food in his hand.

"What's the occasion?" She teased, standing to greet him. He sent her a dry laugh before setting down the plate on an empty desk, pulling out a chair to sit. She joined him curiously, staring longingly at the roasted chicken as her stomach complained in protest. She patted it slightly, trying to calm it down.

"Why weren't you at dinner?"

"I guess I just lost track of time. I'm trying to get all these essays graded, and a lot of them are surprisingly interesting, so I don't mind reading them." She shrugged.

"Umbridge was looking for you. She seemed to think you were hiding out or something. McGonagall heard about what you did in your class today, she is beyond pissed." He informed her lightly as he pushed the plate towards her. She kept her manners for a moment before digging ravenously into the chicken and potatoes.

"I'm not hiding from jack." She said proudly.

"Please keep your mouth shut. And _I _know you aren't hiding from anything, but really, the whole school is absolutely alit withgossip about your showdown with Umbridge today, what is your problem? We're supposed to be lying low." He said sardonically.

"Eh…I'm not really one to take shit lying down."

"This is the _Ministry_ we're talking about, Core."

"So? Are you forgetting that I worked for the Ministry for a good number of years—"

"—5 years—"

"—5 years, where I gave them my sincerest effort and everything I had?"

"That's a stupid excuse."

"I'm just saying that I have a lot of leverage where it is needed, and that if she wants me sacked, she's going to have to do a _hell_ of a lot better than that." She growled.

"Down, girl. Alright, I believe you, _for now_, but I swear to Merlin, any more outbursts like this and I'm going to be thoroughly upset with you." He chastised.

"Yes, mother."

"And you should speak to Draco; he seemed very shaken up today during dinner." He continued, off-handedly.

"_What?" _She exclaimed, alarmed, as she hopped up out of her seat, ready to run to her godson's aid.

"Relax! He's fine, he just seemed really afraid at the thought of you leaving, is all."

"See, that's what it's like to have someone care about you." She teased.

"Yeah, yeah. Stop grading essays and get to bed. I'll be by in the morning to make sure you come to breakfast." He said sternly.

"Wouldn't want Umbridge thinking I was afraid." She laughed.

"Actually, I just wanted to make sure that you got all your proper nutrients." He said sarcastically.

"Well in that case, don't bother. I'm not eating till the Halloween feast." She groaned.

"That's in 3 weeks." He dead-panned.

"Yeah, and when I eat at the feast, I will consume enough calories to make up for the three weeks of lost food." She promised.

"You're fine, Core." He rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah…get outta here." She shooed him off with her hand.

* * *

Two days later, Cory found herself discreetly flooing out of Dumbledore's office and into Grimmauld Place. She waited patiently for Severus to appear before the two joined the rest of the Order in the drawing room.

All talking ceased as a gavel met wood.

"Attention! This meeting is now being called to order." Dumbledore said loudly, commanding the attention of the room. Cory sent a sideways glance to Severus, before returning to Dumbledore.

"Our first order of business. Hagrid has returned from the giants. Hagrid, if you will…" He drifted, allowing the large man to take the floor.

"When me and Olympe firs' arriv'd, we thought ther'd be a chance that the giants would side withus. A few days later, Death Eaters showed up, and manag'd to sway the lot of them. Ther's only one we cud bring back, his name is Grawp." He thundered. Cory winced at the sizes of the bruises on his face. Obviously it had been a problem trying to get out of there.

"Thank you, Hagrid." Dumbledore smiled.

"Next, Remus, how are the werewolves coming along?"

All attention shifted to the werewolf who was all but hunched in the corner. He sighed loudly.

"They're not interested." He said gruffly.

The meeting went on in similar fashion, causing Cory to drift. This wasn't like the last time; there were no battles to fight. It made her antsy.

"…I don't know how many of you have heard the rumblings of what is occurring at Hogwarts, but the Ministry is trying to interfere." Cory suddenly cut back in at his solemn tone.

"I must urge the teachers to keep a low profile…_Especially_you, Cornelia. Umbridge is out to get you." He said sadly. He was met with two scoffs.

"Who isn't out to get Corny?"

"That toad can kiss my arse, I'm not bowing down to no one." Cory and Sirius whipped heads towards each other, glowering as they realized they had spoken simultaneously.

"Keep your comments to yourself, Black." Severus drawled from beside her.

"Can't help but be honest, Snivellus." Sirius said disdainfully.

"Oh piss off, Black. You're just jealous that we're out there willing to lose our jobs for the cause while you're stuck here all alone playing housewife." She waved her hand lazily. Sirius jumped to his feet, wand in hand.

"Sorry, Corny. Did you just say you were risking your job? You're probably teaching all your students the Dark Arts anyway." He spat. Cory met his wand easily, her eyes trained on him.

"As a matter of fact, I am. You can't defend it if you don't know it, Black." She growled, her wand pressing towards his neck. Sirius' mouth opened, ready to retort, before both were flung back into the wall behind them. Cory slammed into it, her head snapping to the side suddenly causing her to groan before she sunk to the floor.

"Ughh…" She whimpered, massaging her neck. She glanced over to see Sirius in a similar position and Dumbledore with his wand out.

"I understand that you had a petty rivalry when you were children, but this is war, and I will not tolerate this in my Order. Is that understood?" Dumbledore said menacingly. Cory winced; she had never seen Dumbledore so mad.

"Yes sir." She said quietly. Severus lent her a hand up, which she took gratefully before returning to her seat.

"That is all for today's meeting. You will be notified of the next meeting shortly." The Headmaster clipped before gliding out of the room. Cory stood dumbstruck.

"Come on, Core. Let's head back." Severus said gently.

"You go, there's something I wanted to get from Reg's old room." She said quietly. He glanced at her before nodding in understanding.

"Come to my office later? We need to spend time together." He whined.

"Maybe, I kind of wanted to talk to Drake first."

"About what?" He asked seriously. His godson was very important to him.

"Nothing in particular…just life I guess."

"What about Harry?"

"What _about_ Harry? He has two best friends who would do anything for him. Draco doesn't have that." She said sadly. Severus nodded.

"Then I'll see you at dinner." He said curtly. She nodded and he went towards the floo while she went towards the stairs.

She climbed slowly towards his room, as if trying to delay the following act as long as possible. When she finally arrived in front of the door, a shaking hand dipped into her robe pocket, pulling out an extremely crinkled letter, as though it had been opened many times, and a silver chain. She inhaled sharply before opening the door.

"Under the bed…" She recited quietly, lowering herself to the floor as she fished under his bed.

"…In an old trunk…" She pulled out a large trunk, yanking at it with all her strength until it was fully out from underneath the bed. She opened it, coughing slightly as dust rose into the air.

"…In a wooden box…" She searched for a moment before pulling out an intricately designed wooden box. She opened it delicately.

"…A velvet box…It's blue." She saw the object in question, staring at her. She gripped it in her hands, opening it carefully.

From underneath the top, a bright diamond shone as brightly as it must have the day it was cut. The band was white gold. The diamond in the middle was at least 16 carats, maybe more. But what caused the tears to form in her eyes were the two aquamarines that surrounded the diamond. They were her birthstone, and Regulus knew that this was her dream ring.

She let out the breath she hadn't known she was holding.

With tears streaming down her face she carefully threaded the silver chain through the ring, and then clasped it around her neck. It fell right in between her breasts.

Right above her heart.

"Where I will always keep you, Regulus." She promised, pulling the ring to her lips.

She didn't know how long she sat there, just staring around his room, before she finally decided that she had to return to her post at Hogwarts. She carefully slipped the velvet box into her pocket before placing the wooden box into the trunk and sliding the trunk under the bed. She stood silently, stretching slightly before taking the four paces to his door.

She opened the door before turning back into the room. With one last look she exited the room and stood in the hallway.

She pulled the door shut behind her.

And walked away.

**

* * *

**

A/N: Hey guys, another chapter for you. Cory finally got the ring! I hope I described it well enough. I was originally gonna put that scene at the beginning of the next chapter, but this one was running a little short, so I added it in. Today we clock in at 18 pages with6,612 words. Sooo…yeah. Oh, and last chapter I said that the past was supposed to get towards Christmas…that sort of failed. The fight with Sev and Reg was never supposed to last through the morning, Cory was never supposed to sit at the Gryffindor table, and there was never supposed to be a duel. So next chapter is probably going to focus on the duel, which puts me like three chapters behind. Awesome. How do you all feel about me putting previews in my chapters?

**Preview of next time: **

_"What are you doing, fighting against Black?" He grabbed her arm roughly, pulling her around to face him._

_"Last time I checked, you weren't my keeper." She said coldly, wrenching her arm away._

_"You don't even have a second." He pointed out._

_"I do too. Lily Evans." She pointed towards the corner of the classroom, where the red-head was laughing with her friends._

_"So now you're dragging her into your petty fight." He glared in disgust._

_"This is just a stupid game between me and Sirius." She spat before stalking off._

_"Core!"_

(And in the present)

"Lucius, you can't let her sack me." She groaned towards the blonde as he walked in to her classroom.

"Like she could if she tried. You have half of the board wrapped around your right pinky, and half of the Ministry wrapped around your left. She has no shot." He drawled.

"Don't let her try." She whined, pouting.

"She can try all she wishes. She won't succeed." He promised.

**There you go. Tell me what you thought!!!**

**Much love, Shawn**


	12. Dueling Daze

**Story Title: Crimson and Clover**

**Chapter Title: Dueling Daze **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, Hogwarts, or anything from the books. I own Cory and any concepts, ideas, people or places that you may not have heard of, unless I say otherwise. The title comes from the song "Crimson and Clover" by Tommy James and the Shondells, though I originally got it from the song "A Praise Chorus" by Jimmy Eat World.**

**Warning: Mild Language, and some corny scenes.**

**Story Summary: **_**Cornelia "Cory" Potter was never the perfect child, no, that was left up to her brother James. Her twin brother, James Potter, who was younger than her by a mere 7 minutes, but was still younger nevertheless, was always better than she was. Always the one who was slightly better at flying, the one with the wicked sense of humor, the one with the good looks, the one who could get away with everything, the **_**Gryffindor. **_**When the hat shouted out that Cory was destined to forever adorn the Slytherin crest on her robes, her life went down the tubes. Her parents still loved her, sure, but James never forgave her. After his death, she moved to America, but now that Voldemort is back, she's been called back to fight. And fight she will. A Slytherin never backs down from battle, no matter which side they're on, and Cory is ready to take on her old friends, while fighting alongside her old enemies.**_

* * *

_When the group arrived at the defense classroom, they found the door locked, and __Cavenaugh__ nowhere in sight. _

_"Excellent." Sirius said, whipping around to face the rest of the group. "We'll wait till she comes back, then we'll tell her." He directed to Cory. She nodded before leaning against a nearby wall, toying with her wand._

_"Cory, are you mad?" A whisper came from beside her. She looked up from her feet to see Severus and Regulus standing in front of her, identical glares set upon their features._

_"What the hell do you two want?" She whispered harshly, pulling herself off the wall. She turned to walk towards her brother and his friends when Severus spoke up_

_"What are you doing, fighting against Black?" He grabbed her arm roughly, pulling her around to face him._

_"Last time I checked, you weren't my keeper." She said coldly, wrenching her arm away._

_"You don't even have a second." He pointed out._

_"I do too. Lily Evans." She pointed towards the corner of the hall, where the red-head was laughing with her friends._

_"So now you're dragging her into your petty fight." He glared in disgust._

_"This is just a stupid game between me and Sirius." She spat before stalking off._

_"Core!" _

_She turned around to face Regulus blankly. _

_"You don't need to prove anything to us. We know that you weren't really thinking yesterday and we forgive you." _

_"Forgive me for what, exactly?" She spat._

_"For believing that mudbloods are the same as us. You don't need to fight the mudblood lovers to prove it." He shrugged._

_Cory's face suddenly contorted with rage._

_"Is that what you BLOODY THINK?!" She shouted, causing the Gryffindors to stare. There was still ten minutes until class started, so the rest of the hall was relatively empty._

_"Well, why else would you be fighting them?" He seemed confused. Cory seemed ready to punch him in the face._

_"What the hell don't you understand about the fact that it's a bloody game between me and your brother?" She growled. Regulus flinched._

_"He's no brother of mine." He glowered, looking past her to stare at the disowned Black._

_"You're right. He's too nice and mature and—oh, I dunno, smart to be as dumb as your family." She thundered._

_Behind her, James seemed ready to interfere, but Lily pulled him into conversation. Cory would forgive him for not getting involved….right?_

_"Cory, as a friend, I'm telling you not to fight him." Severus interjected, coming into the heated argument._

_"In case you didn't get the memo yesterday, Severus. We are no longer friends." She spat the word._

_"Do what you want. Go back to your stupid new friends, Core. Reg, get to class." Cory sent the two one last glare before slowly walking towards the Gryffindors, her eyes trained on Severus as he spoke to his younger friend._

_"What was that about?" Sirius asked her quietly as she joined them. She glanced once more over her shoulder to see Regulus walking off._

_"Nothing." _

_"Professor Cavenaugh, can me and Corny have a duel at the beginning of class?" Sirius asked the new defense professor sweetly as he sauntered up to her desk._

_Cavenaugh was a woman, about late twenties, with dark auburn hair that fell into waves and dark brown eyes. She raised a delicate eyebrow to Sirius before turning to Cory who was glaring at him from behind._

_"It's Cory, Professor Cavenaugh, and I challenged him to a friendly no-rule, all curses go duel this morning at breakfast." She said diplomatically, shoving Sirius out of the way._

_"And why did you challenge him, exactly?"_

_"He was being a git. He tends to do that, you see. You'll notice before long that he's quite an idiot." She explained. Sirius rolled her eyes at her, elbowing her in the side._

_"We just wanted to get in the dueling spirit for this year." He laughed._

_"Oh yes, the tournament. Well, I guess this would be a good opener. It will not count in the tournament, but I guess it could be a nice presentation." She tossed the idea around in her head for a moment before giving the two seventh years a grin._

_  
"Set up the platform, and you can begin when class starts. I'll ref it, and are you dueling with seconds?" She asked, brandishing her wand to set up the platform._

_"Yes. Mine's Lily Evans." Cory pointed out the redhead in the corner._

_"And mine's James Potter." He pointed him out as well._

_"Excellent, set up and I'll let you know when we get started."_

_Sirius called his friends over, and the group immediately began to conjure up the parts of the platform. While this was going on, students began to trickle in, and finally Professor Cavenaugh signaled for the group to stop their work and return to their seats._

_"Hello class. Welcome to your last first day of defense." The class let out a slight round of cheers. "As you all know, we will be holding the 7__th__ year dueling tournament. Today we will review the rules, and choose the first round of duels to be completed in one month's time. The second week in October will be dedicated to the first round of the dueling tournament. Each round will follow six weeks after, with 5 rounds total. The championship duel will be in April, and the winner will get extra marks on their NEWT exams, as well as an automatic referral to the Auror program in Britain. In between each round of dueling we will cover a topic. This first topic is dark creatures, so be prepared next class with what information you know about them. As a special treat today, four of your classmates have challenged themselves to a little duel, so if all four of you would come up here."_

_She stood up on the platform, and Cory, Sirius, James, and Lily joined her._

_"The duel will be between Cory Potter and Sirius Black, with Lily Evans and James Potter as their respective seconds. If the seconds would wait off to the side…" James and Lily walked off to opposite sides of the platform, and waited near the edge._

_"You will use your second if you become injured, or unconscious. You may decide to switch with your second at anytime in the match, and whosever team is down first loses. No illegal or potentially life-threatening curses, please." She stressed. Cory and Sirius nodded before turning abruptly on their heels and walking towards separate ends of the platform._

_"On my count."_

_"1."_

_Cory whipped out her wand, holding it out in front of her, ready to strike._

_"2."_

_Sirius leveled his wand towards Cory, his hands steady._

_The two hunched in anticipation._

_  
"3."_

_"Stupefy!"_

_"Talantallegra!" _

_  
Immediately all hell broke loose between the two, both dodging the oncoming spells. Cory ducked out of the way of his stunning charm, before sending a disarming curse at him._

_"Rictusempra! Silencio!" Sirius released both spells in quick succession, causing Cory to roll out of the way of the tickling hex and into the path of the silencing charm. She was particularly skilled in wordless charms, so she could use it to her advantage._

_"Got you now, Corny." He taunted, raising his wand for a final blow. Cory rolled her eyes and sent a stunner at him. He didn't have time to stop it, and instead fell in a dead faint. _

_There was silence in the room before James gasped and jumped up to fight his sister. Cory took the spare moment to free herself of the silencing charm._

_"Expelliarmus!" James shouted._

_"Protego! Densuago!" _

_"Relashio!"_

_"Levicorpus!" Cory grinned as James flew up in the air by his ankle._

_"Scourgify!" _

_"Noirus!" _

_"Why was that useful at all?" James took the moment to glance at his newly blackened shirt as he lowered himself to the ground, gently. Cory held her wand out offensively, ready to attack again._

_"It wasn't really. Black looks better on you, to be honest." She shrugged. The two rolled their eyes and began to fight once again._

_"Occulus negatius!" _

_"Locomotor Mortis!" _

_Cory and James were very evenly matched, and suddenly, Cory had an idea._

_"Diffindo!" James shouted. Cory purposefully stepped in the way of the hex, allowing it to slice through the arm of her shirt, and draw a small amount of blood from her arm. _

_She dramatically collapsed to her knees._

_"I've been hit!" She gasped, pulling the ailing appendage close to her body. "I can't go on. Lily! You must fight for me!" She cried out before falling sideways and rolling towards the side of the platform. _

_"Lily, my love. Let's call it a draw." James said suavely. Lily scoffed._

_"In your dreams, Potter! Stupefy!" _

_"Protego!"_

_"Brilliant idea there, Corny." Sirius said to her as she sat beside him._

_"I know right? James will never hurt her." She laughed, performing a minor healing charm to stop her bleeding arm. She looked on in interest as Lily disarmed and stunned James in three moves._

_"Yeah, Lily!" Cory jumped in the air, pulled the other girl into a short hug, and proceeded to do a victory dance in front of Sirius._

_"Take that, Black. I told you, I'm so much better than you are at dueling." _

* * *

_Cory spent the rest of the day with her brother and his friends. She had tried to sit next to Andrew McCormick, a seventh year Slytherin, in Transfiguration but he quickly moved away from her, forcing her to once again pair up with James. _

_It was after a dinner spent at the Gryffindor table that Cory made her way down to the dungeons, alone, for the first time in seven years. _

_That night in the common room was just like any other night. She sat in her favorite armchair closest to the fire and worked away at the Transfiguration homework that McGonagall had already set down for the 7__th__ years. She managed to get all of it done, as well as the remainder of her summer Potions homework before she looked up and noticed that the common room had emptied, except for one. She tucked her quill into her pocket, waiting to see if the boy would make a move. It seemed that he was in a similar situation as her, as his books were tucked away neatly in his pack and his black eyes stared blankly at the fire._

_"I'm sorry." Cory announced after a few moments of awkward silence. Severus glanced up, his motion making it seem as if he was surprised, but his eyes let her know that he knew what she was saying._

_"I overreacted, to you especially. It's just—you know how I get with that supremacy stuff. I know you more than most have a reason to hate muggles, but not all of them are like that!" She protested weakly, a pout forming on her lips as she tried to get him to understand. _

_"I guess I owe you an apology too then. I know that you of all people have a right to dislike Voldemort and this crap. But Core, I'm not supporting him directly or anything…I just agree with what he has to say." Severus tried to explain, his voice soft._

_"But…but can't you tell it's wrong, Sev? He's killing innocent people for something that they can't control!" She said quietly._

_"I think he's going about it the wrong way, but I genuinely believe that muggles are below us." He said steely._

_"Whatever, I'm not going to argue with you. Today was hellish enough without my best friend."_

_"Forgive me?" Severus asked sweetly, standing up._

_"Always." She grinned. Severus' eyes darted around the empty common room for a moment before he yanked her into a long hug. She sighed, reveling in the feeling of being in her best friend's arms._

_"Promise we won't fight like this again?" She asked quietly after the two stood there for a moment._

_"I promise." He replied just as softly as he placed a kiss on her forehead._

_The next morning Cory and Severus made their way to breakfast together. Things were back to normal in Slytherin house it seemed, as the only person who wasn't talking to her was Regulus, but it's not like Cory cared. If he wanted to flat out support Voldemort and his actions and be a git about it on top of everything else, then she wasn't going to pay him any mind. _

_As the two were walking, Cory spotted a certain group of Gryffindors down the corridor. She nodded at Severus to go ahead before she charged after them._

_"James!" She called, sprinting to catch up._

_"Cory? What's going on?"_

_She paused for a moment to catch her breath. _

_"I just wanted to say thanks. For yesterday. You guys helped me out when I was down, and it was sweet. I just wanted to let you know that me and Severus have made up." She smiled at each of the four boys who had tolerated her presence not even 24 hours before._

_"Anything for you big sis." James grinned ruffling her hair. She whimpered, swatting his hand away as his friends snickered._

_"Come on now, Prongs. Leave her hair alone, it's bad enough with the Potter curse!" Sirius guffawed. _

_"Sad but true." She said mournfully. _

_The group stood in an awkward silence._

_  
"Um…well. Yeah. I'll see you guys in class I suppose." And with that Cory shuffled off, running a hand through her hair as she caught up with Severus._

_"Your sister is one crazed up girl, Prongs." Sirius laughed, shaking his head._

_"Too true, mate." _

* * *

Cory woke up the next morning bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Because it was a Sunday, she had no classes to teach and was therefore free to roam the halls until her luncheon with Lucius. She had planned to have this meeting with him for a while, intent on discussing the matters of Draco's service to the Dark Lord with him.

It was around 12:30 that he arrived in her office, where he was met with a table full of food and Cory sitting at her desk, nose in a book.

"Just how you always use to sit, Core." He laughed waiting for her to stand and greet him.

Cory was thrown from her trance and jumped up, greeting her old friend with a warm hug.

"You scared me, ya git." She laughed as she pulled away from him.

"Now what is it that you wanted to discuss, Cory?" He prodded as the two sat down to lunch. Cory paused for a moment to swallow her roast beef before responding.

"First thing is that that horrible Umbridge woman is sending this place to the dogs." She huffed.

"Dumbledore was sending it in that direction already, the old fool." Lucius glowered. Cory glared at him briefly before shaking her head.

"Yeah well, she's going to get me fired." She groaned, leaning back in her chair with a pout on her lips.

"You look like you're five." He reprimanded.

"Lucius, you can't let her sack me." She groaned towards the blonde.

"Like she could if she tried. You have half of the board wrapped around your right pinky, and half of the Ministry wrapped around your left. She has no shot." He drawled.

"Don't let her try." She whined, pouting.

"She can try all she wishes. She won't succeed." He promised.

"I dunno, she's awfully persistent for such a small person."

Lucius laughed and the old friends settled into a calm silence.

"I also needed to speak to you about something else." Cory said quietly as the two finished their meal. Lucius leaned back in his chair, eyeing her wearily as she waved her wand, sending the dishes in front of them to the kitchens.

"And what would that be?"

"It's about Draco." As she said this, Lucius' face fell. He should have known that this conversation was coming, Cory rationalized in her mind. After all, if Lucius knew anything about her its that she cared about Draco more than anything.

"And what about Draco?" He continued in a diplomatic tone.

"You know what about Draco, Lucius, so cut the crap and lets get down to it." She said irritated.

"What do you want me to say, Core? That the Dark Lord isn't expecting him to join his service? Well he is, and its safest for all of us if Draco just goes along."

"You think its safe for Draco to be in that environment at such a young age?" She thundered.

"I was, and I turned out just fine."

"Yeah, and what about everyone else? I can't even count the number of friends we've lost, either to death or Azkaban, that were in Voldemort's service!"

"Yeah, and what about your friends on the other side? Need I remind you that the last time around you lost just as many people on the light as you did on the dark?"

"Need I remind you that it was _all_ Voldemort's doing?" She spat. The two turned away from each other, pausing for a moment to catch their breath.

"Cory, in a war like this, we have to choose sides. And right now Voldemort's side is the safest to be on, and I have to look out for my family."

"You'll be doing that well from Azkaban." She snapped.

"Voldemort has promised us safety." Lucius said, as if trying to convince her.

"Voldemort can't promise you anything. You think when he falls that the Ministry will believe you were under the imperius curse, _again_? You'll be locked up in a high-security cell in Azkaban, only this time you'll be flanked by Narcissa and Draco. Is that really what you want? For the esteemed Malfoy name to become the next Lestrange disgrace?" She said in a pleading tone.

"Core…even if I wanted to leave Voldemort's service…He would find me, and then kill us all."

"Dumbledore can protect you! And when all this is over, they will know you as the man who stood against Voldemort, who saw the error in his ways and turned sides!"

"No. The light will see me as a coward, and the dark will see me as a turncoat traitor. I can't do it, Cory." He said firmly.

"I'm not going to let you drag Draco down with you." She matched his tone.

"We'll see about that." And with that Lucius turned on his heel, intent on heading towards her fireplace.

"Luce!" She cried, grabbing his arm.

"Let me protect him. Just trust me. You know I care about Draco more than anything. I won't let him turn into another Regulus." She said, looking deeply into his eyes.

"For both our sakes, I hope he doesn't."

"And just…be careful, okay? I can't stand to see you turn into another Regulus either." A small smile played on her lips.

"Take care of him, Cory." And with that he pulled her into a long hug. She sighed into his shoulder, very much fearing that this could be the last time she held her beloved friend in her arms.

"I'll see you." And with that, Lucius disappeared into her fireplace with a lick of green flames, leaving Cory to stare around her office, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"Bloody hell…"

* * *

"So it has occurred to me, that no student in this school is aware of how to have a proper duel." Cory's voice boomed loudly from inside the defense classroom. She was currently hosting 5th year Gryffindors and Slytherins, who were all paying rapt attention.

"In my last class with the 7th years, and the one before that with the 6ths, it has become apparent that in your schooling, no one has taught you how to duel, either formally, or informally." She paused for a moment as Seamus Finnegan's hand rose into the air.

"Yes, Mr. Finnegan, I am aware that you had a supposed 'dueling club' in your 2nd year. However, that was taught by a man who is the mockery of the magical world, and I refuse to allow that silly excuse for a club be your only training. For that reason, I have prepared a special seminar today. Professor Snape will be assisting me in a demonstration, and we will break everything down for you, so you can see the full components of a duel.

"We will show you both formal dueling styles for competition play, as well as informal, what is known as, battlefield dueling, which is what you will be using over the course of the next couple of weeks in class. You will then research different styles, and we will work on them in class next time." She didn't wait for an answer.

"Severus, come out then." Severus exited her office in a flourish, his black cloak billowing behind him before he whipped it off in a flash. He brandished his wand before glancing at the class with a disgusted look.

Cory stared at him for a moment.

"Bloody hell!" Sev exclaimed as his wand shot from his hand into Cory's outstretched one. She glanced at him with a smirk adorning her face as the rest of the class laughed.

"First rule of defense: never get cocky. It _will_ get you killed, or seriously injured." She said sardonically as she tossed Sev's wand back at him. He caught it with ease and backed several paces away to his spot on the platform, his eyes trained on Cory's the entire time.

"There are several dueling techniques out there in the world. Every person has a different one, so what may work for you won't necessarily work for someone else." She started, turning her head to the class. Her body continued to face Severus, keeping him in her peripheral vision as she explained.

"My personal style is what is known as the 'snake.' Unoriginal, I know, but these names were only coined recently, so give them a break." She turned completely to Severus, preparing herself.

"The set-up of the snake is a very offensive tactic. It is so, because the wand is essentially detached from the body and is in a striking location, ready to kill at a moments notice, much like a snake." She drew her right hand up, bending her elbow at a 90 degree angle above her head, and struck her left hand forward, away from her body. Her wand made a parallel line with her feet, which where spread about shoulder-width apart, her left foot in front.

"This is not a very good beginner technique, because it requires a right-foot step before you can actually launch a spell. For example." She stepped forward with her right foot, while simultaneously bringing her right arm down in a circular motion, she stopped it at about level with her chest before shouting out a disarming charm. Severus' wand once again flew into her hands, causing her to throw it back.

"The best way to learn your individual dueling technique is to see what happens in a real battle situation. These techniques are things that have to come naturally for you, you can't just learn them out of a textbook." Her eyes shot towards Hermione as she scribbled her notes. "It's amazing to see how your body naturally reacts in a life-threatening situation and how your natural defenses kick in, working with your magic to essentially define your dueling technique."

"And so, for tonight's homework, I would like each of you to research different dueling styles, and come prepared for next class with a detailed list. As you are doing this, I would like you to make a mental note of which style seems like it would fit you best. Then next class we will have a minor dueling stand-off so that each of you can slowly begin to form an idea of what your dueling style it is. It'll be interesting to see how well you can guess what your style is."

"Thanks for the help with the class, Severus." She nodded to her colleague. Severus bowed his head and flourished out of the room. Cory sighed, if only _she_ could get her robes to billow like that.

"Professor, where did you learn your dueling style?" A voice came from the back of the room. She swung her head around to see Dean Thomas with a curious look on his face. She sighed and sat back against her desk, taking in the eager young faces before her.

"How many of you can name battles from the First War?" She asked quietly, her eyes narrowed. A few hands rose hesitantly in the air, mostly Slytherins, she noted, as well as three Gryffindors, Neville Longbottom, Pavarti Patil, and Hermione Granger.

"Parkinson, name as many as you can."

Pansy looked flush for a moment before answering.

"There was the Battle of Yorkshire, the Winchester Raid, the Attack of Manchester, and the Battle of Chelsea. That's all I know." She said snootily.

"Very good, Parkinson. Take ten points. Now those are considered the most important battles of the First War. But there was one battle that really kick started the war in the summer of 1977. Can anybody tell me what that battle was?" The hands that had previously been in the air dropped to their owner's side. Only Draco's hand remained.

"Mr. Malfoy?"

"The Diagon Alley Massacre." He said softly. There was collection of gasps from the students who knew of the massacre. The remaining students (muggleborns mostly) stared around in confusion.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy. The Diagon Alley Massacre. It is considered to be the worst massacre in modern Wizarding History. Thirty-five people were killed in the original struggle. Of the 50 who were severely injured, 44 of them later perished. As they cleared the wreckage of the alley, they found an additional 23 bodies. That means that in one short battle, over 100 people were killed. There are still 17 people who were in the alley that day who are unaccounted for.

"The Death Eaters arrived at approximately 1:45 in the afternoon on that day. It is said that after the aurors managed to break down the enchantments surrounding the Alley, and finally apparate in, it was 2:20. That means in the span of 35 minutes, over 100 people were killed and wounded." Cory paused for a moment to gather her whits.

"What does that have to do with how you learned your dueling style?" Seamus Finnegan asked.

"At 1:45, me, my brother, and Sirius Black were sitting inside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor." There was a gasp at the mention of Sirius Black, but Cory silenced them with a dark look. "We had been getting ready to go back home when we heard a scream outside. Immediately the three of us jumped out of our seats, and after a few moments of deliberation, we decided that we were going to go out and fight. I lost them quickly, as I had charged out of the parlor and directly into the battle. Stupid, I know, but I was only 17 and had had horrible Defense teachers just as you lot did."

The class laughed for a moment.

"When we got out there, I started dueling with a Death Eater. We fought for a while, and then he called me a 15-year-old kid, so I got mad and cursed him. When I finished that duel, I ran down the street and saw the wreckage. Shops had been torn down, there were people screaming, bodies strewn across the ground. It was horrible. I finally found my brother and Sirius. They were dueling three Death Eaters. James had taken on two and Sirius was fighting one. Sirius was closer, so I stunned his Death Eater, and then James' Death Eater's had disarmed him, so Sirius and I decided to double-team them and take them down. This guy insulted my age too, which had me really irritated, so I stunned him without a problem."

The class giggled once more.

"But then more Death Eaters showed up, and it was six against us two. We fought together and managed to take out two before we were out of breath. We kept fighting though because we knew that if we stopped it would be the end. And so we fought and just when it was looking like we had the upper hand, a Death Eater fired a curse at Sirius." The class waited with baited breath for her to continue.

"I understand that you guys learned about the Unforgivable Curses last year, correct?" The class nodded, waiting for her to continue her story.

"Then you know that the Imperius curse is extremely hard to fight against. Unfortunately for me, Sirius was hit with the Imperius curse, so what was once a four on two fight became five on one. I tried to avoid hitting Sirius with any curses, and eventually he overcame it and saved me from a nasty bout of the Cruciatous curse—" there were gasps "—and we were able to take down three of the remaining Death Eaters. Just as we were about to take on the last one, he exploded the shop behind us and apparated away. Sirius managed to get out of the way, but I was caught under the debris, and woke up the next morning in St. Mungo's, under the severely injured list."

The class stared at her, wide-eyed. She sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"Like I said earlier, your dueling style is something that will just come naturally to you in the middle of the battlefield. I didn't really have any training before that attack, and it seemed like halfway through my first duel that night, something just turned on in me and I knew how to fight. My style has stayed the same for almost 20 years now. I've tried other styles, but nothing just _fits_ as well as my own. It's like a wand. You can use someone else's wand, and get some mediocre results, but only your wand is what will save you at the end of the day."

The class stared at her, awe-struck.

"So you know your homework—" she looked down at her watch, "—it's nearly lunch time, why don't you guys just get out of here? Come prepared next class though! We're taking up the whole period!" She shouted over the commotion that the students began to cause as they shuffled their way out of the classroom.

She leaned against her desk, not at all surprised that Draco, Harry, Hermione and Ron were waiting behind (though not all together, of course).

"Draco, why don't you go wait in my office? I need to talk to you." Her voice was light, but Draco got the message from Cory's eyes. It was important, and so he nodded his head slightly and made his way to her office.

"And what can I do for you three?' She asked with a crooked smile as she beckoned them closer.

"Is it true? You know…that you and Sirius fought along side each other to help my dad?" Harry asked after a few moments of silence. Cory squinted at him for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah. Well, at first it was to save your dad, but then it sort of became about saving ourselves, and each other by default."

"But you and Sirius hate each other." Ron blurted out, earning him soft glares from his companions.

"Yeah, but when your surrounded by Death Eaters, you have to keep in mind that the enemy of your enemy is your friend. I think deep down Sirius understands that I'm on the light side, and that I always have been, and he knew he could trust me to have his back. If anything, he knew that I cared about James more than anyone, and that I wouldn't let those assholes get away with hurting him." She smirked.

The three Gryffindors were silenced for a moment.

"Is that all you three wanted?" She prodded.

"Yeah, I guess. We still on for tomorrow, Cory?" Harry asked quietly. Tomorrow was their weekly Friday tea.

"Yes we are, Harry. Have you and Draco been getting along nicely?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. Harry looked down sheepishly, and Ron's face turned the color of his hair.

"Mostly…sort of…I guess, Cory. It's just, he's so obnoxious and it's not like he goes out of his way to leave us alone." Harry trailed off, looking at his feet.

"Just…try." She sighed. The three nodded and with a wave of her hand they scurried out of her classroom.

She pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to ward off an oncoming migraine. She sighed before proceeding to her office where Draco was waiting.

"I need to talk to you about your Christmas plans." She said firmly as she walked in. Draco looked up at her from his spot at her desk, surprised.

"What about them?" His voice was strong, but his eyes betrayed the weariness that he was feeling.

"You won't be going home." He stared at her, shocked.

"Even if it means that I'm just postponing it for one more year, you won't be going into Voldemort's service while I am around." He flinched at the name of the Dark Lord, but other than that made no other movement.

"Draco," she started slowly, kneeling down across from him. "Don't look so surprised. I'm not going to let you make the same mistake that so many others have made before you."

"B-but, Core…The Dark Lord—He-who-must-not-be-named, he's going to kill me if I don't join! I'm only 15! I can't die!" He gulped, staring at her wide-eyed. Cory sighed, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"You know that I would never let that happen to you. And besides, Draco, you know this is the right thing to do. What Voldemort's doing is _wrong_. I mean, I know you don't like Hermione Granger, but do you honestly want to see her dead?" She said softly.

He opened his mouth to speak before shutting it quickly. Finally after a few moments, he shook his head.

"You don't exactly have it in you to be a killer, Drake. So that's why you and me are spending Christmas here with Severus. Just think of it as a…godparent Christmas." She grinned.

Draco tore his eyes away from the floor to meet hers. They were once again the emotionless gray orbs that she had gotten so used to seeing over the past few weeks.

"Thanks, Core. I think that'd be fun. A Christmas with you and Uncle Sev, I mean." He said sheepishly. She grinned and pulled him into a hug, making sure to ruffle his hair as she did.

"Oy! Can you not, Core? It takes a long time to get my hair perfectly coiffed, as so." He gestured to his now messy blonde locks.

"Get to class, Malfoy, before I give you detention." She swung at his head playfully as he ran off, pausing in the doorway as she called him back.

"Friday, then?" Draco bit his lip in concentration before nodding.

"See ya."

* * *

A/N: Wow…what a long 6+ months it has been without an update O_O. I'm genuinely sorry that I haven't updated in so long. I had most of this chapter written in January, but a lot of crappy stuff happened and I couldn't bring myself to write a story that is so surrounded by death. These past couple weeks though I've been adding bits and pieces, and I'm finally getting back into the groove of writing, so hopefully that will mean more updates…I'm not giving up on this story though, I promise :).

Other than that, what did you think? I'm not too pleased with the last scene at all, but it just kind of came out and I didn't really know how to change it. Please let me know what you think, especially if its constructive criticism! I feel like the writing in this chapter isn't as good as previous. Draco was kind of sappy and everything was just…weird. Maybe I just need to get back to writing after being gone so long…?

Alsooooo...HARRY POTTER TONIGHT!!! WHOOO!!! I thought I would give you guys a little treat, so go see the movie and then read this (or vice versa...i dont care).

-Shawn


	13. The Prelude

**Story Title: Crimson and Clover**

**Chapter Title: The Prelude **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, Hogwarts, or anything from the books. I own Cory and any concepts, ideas, people or places that you may not have heard of, unless I say otherwise. The title comes from the song "Crimson and Clover" by Tommy James and the Shondells, though I originally got it from the song "A Praise Chorus" by Jimmy Eat World.**

**Warning: Mild Language, and some corny scenes.**

**Story Summary: **_**Cornelia "Cory" Potter was never the perfect child, no, that was left up to her brother James. Her twin brother, James Potter, who was younger than her by a mere 7 minutes, but was still younger nevertheless, was always better than she was. Always the one who was slightly better at flying, the one with the wicked sense of humor, the one with the good looks, the one who could get away with everything, the **_**Gryffindor. **_**When the hat shouted out that Cory was destined to forever adorn the Slytherin crest on her robes, her life went down the tubes. Her parents still loved her, sure, but James never forgave her. After his death, she moved to America, but now that Voldemort is back, she's been called back to fight. And fight she will. A Slytherin never backs down from battle, no matter which side they're on, and Cory is ready to take on her old friends, while fighting alongside her old enemies.**_

* * *

_The next few months had passed by in a very similar fashion. Cory and Regulus were still at ends, and Severus was worried that the rift would remain for good. It was one week before Christmas break and the two were seated quietly at breakfast, Severus with his nose in a book and Cory picking lazily at her eggs._

_"Cory!" She glanced up at the sound of her name, noticing the shadow that had just formed over their table. She glanced up to see her brother, ruffling his hair nervously._

_"Yes?" She asked politely, her eyes drifting casually towards Regulus at the end of the table. He was laughing with some of his sixth year friends. She rolled her eyes._

_"So I talked to mum and dad last week, and they said we could have people over for break." James said with a grin on his face._

_"Yeah, dad sent me that owl last week, too. Did you have anyone in mind?" The question seemed simple enough, but the tone of her voice gave James the idea that he really shouldn't invite anyone at all._

_"Well…I was thinking Sirius, Remus and Peter could come over!" He said quickly. Cory stared at him dumb-founded._

_"Okay, thanks, bye!" Before James could get up to leave, Cory wrapped her hand around his robes, yanking him back into a seated position._

_"There is no way in hell your stupid band of marauders are coming to stay at our house for two and a half weeks!" She spat, her eyes furious._

_"Come on, Cory, they're not that bad! Well…Sirius is, but the other two are harmless!" James pleaded, sending her a puppy-dog look. Cory rolled her eyes: James should know by now that she was resistant to his "charm."_

_"No! I paid you the courtesy of not inviting my friends because I know you don't like them. You could at least do the same." She snapped._

_"You can invite Snivellus if you want! I mean, obviously I'd rather you didn't, but if you really wanted, and you really didn't care about me then I guess you could invite him…I guess…Supposedly. If you really wanted to. But that's only if you didn't care about me. Which you do. So you won't." He said shortly._

_"Just for that I think I will." She said dryly with a smirk._

_"Of course you would." He said in a resigned tone, bringing a hand over his face._

_"It's not that bad. If you're going to stick me in my own house with a stupid bunch of Gryffindors, you could at least let me bring back up."_

_"You say Gryffindors like it's a bad thing!" James gasped appalled._

_"It is." _

_"See you over break then!" James said happily as he got up. Cory grinned._

_"Yep!" She waved merrily as he skipped back to the table._

_"Severus!" She sang loudly. Severus groaned. He knew she wanted something._

_"Yes, Core?" He asked lazily, scribbling into his Potions book._

_"Come to my house for break." She said firmly._

_"Okay." He said without looking up._

_"But you have to—Wait…what? You're going to come?? You know James will be there…and by default so will his stupid little friends!" She warned._

_"Well then obviously I wouldn't be a very good friend if I let you stay with them alone." He pointed out._

_"You're the best!" She squealed latching onto him. Severus patted her arm nonchalantly, waiting for her to gain composure as he read his book. _

_"I'm going to go pack!" She hopped up from the bench and picked up her bag, ready to peel out of the Great Hall._

_"Of course you are." _

_

* * *

_

_It was the final weekend before holiday and the school allowed the students their final Hogsmeade weekend of the calendar year. Because of this Cory found herself walking her way up to The Three Broomsticks, ready to meet an old friend._

_"Is that Core Potter I see?" A silky voice said behind her. Cory whipped her head around, eyes searching for the familiar voice she held so dear._

_"Lucius!" She exclaimed as she spotted the bleach blonde head peak up through the crowd. She took off at a sprint towards her friend before jumping onto him in a very movie-esque fashion._

_"Core! It's so good to see you." He sighed as he placed her down, holding her at arms length to survey her._

_"How are you feeling?" He asked with a voice full of concern as he noted a white scar on her neck. She shrugged idly, before taking his hand and pulling him towards the Three Broomsticks._

_"Alright, I suppose. Things aren't too terrible." She sighed._

_"Good to hear." _

_"How are things with you? How's work at the Ministry?" She piped up as they entered the warm atmosphere of the pub._

_"Excellent, and work is going very well." She eyed him critically for a moment._

_"What?" He asked, baffled as he took a sip of his butterbeer._

_She paused for a moment, as if trying to find the right words to say. Lucius furrowed his eyebrows at her hesitation, gently nudging her hand to get her to speak._

_"Its just…what are you really doing here, Luce? I mean, not that the visit isn't appreciated, because I assure you, it is; but you know we get to see each other at the minister's ball on New Year's. Why did you just show up today?" She averted her eyes for a moment before meeting his gray eyes once more, a blank stare on her face._

_"Well, you're right in thinking I have an ulterior motive—"_

_"—Don't all Slytherins?"_

_"—But, we can't discuss it here, so let's just finish our butterbeer, and go somewhere else." He said quietly, taking a long swig of his drink. Cory rolled her eyes, picked hers up and knocked her head back, chugging the drink in one go. She slammed it down and met looked up at him with challenging eyes._

_"Alright, alright, let's go." He dropped a few galleons onto the table and grabbed her hand before pulling her out of the pub. _

_The two walked, for what Cory was sure to be hours, in silence. They finally came to a stop at the fencing outside of the Shrieking Shack. Cory looked around, they were alone._

_"As you know, Cornelia, the Dark Lord has been gaining power over the past few years." Cory inwardly grimaced._

_"Yeah, I think my little run-in with the Death Eaters over the summer gave that away." _

_"Well then you probably also know that he has recruited some Hogwarts students. Those that are particularly advanced in their studies and demonstrate proper lineage, have all been approached."_

_"I don't see what any of this has to do with me." She interrupted._

_"You're one of the most talented witches in your year, Core. And the Dark Lord thinks that with your pure blood and your Slytherin nature, that you would be a great addition to his ranks." He said cordially._

_"So you're hot shot boss wants me to work for him?" She asked incredulously. "Is he aware that I was fighting his forces just this summer?" _

_"He is," Lucius paused for a moment as if to gather his bearings. "But he also thinks you would be a great asset, and with your Slytherin connections, many of which, I hate to say, are also in his forces, you will be quite formidable. He thinks that you can be convinced to join the dark."_

_Cory stared blankly at him, and it wasn't until a few moments later that Lucius averted his eyes, unable to meet her steely gaze._

_"Tell Voldemort that I have no intention of joining his forces." She said flatly._

_"Core, he'll come after you for turning him down," he pleaded. "You're setting yourself at the top of his hit list by saying no to him." _

_"Let him come after me, Luce. Going against Muggleborns just isn't what I stand for. You know I'm not into the dark arts and all that other stuff." She frowned. _

_"But, Core—"_

_"Save it, Lucius. The answer is no." She stood silently and began to make her way back to the castle. Lucius called after her, but whether or not she heard him was beside the point as she continued on. _

_"Dammit." He cursed before disappearing with a 'pop.'_

_

* * *

  
_

_"Is he fucking insane?" Cory fumed as she stalked back to the castle. "What an idiot! Why the hell in his right mind would he ever think that I would join the death eaters! Seriously?!" She huffed again in annoyance as the castle came into view. She couldn't wait to get back home for break._

_

* * *

_

_"Cory! Cory! Cory! Cory!" The girl in question whipped her head around for the fifth time as she kicked her brother sharply in the ribs._

_"Shut up, James! Merlin's beard what the hell could you possibly want?" The two were sitting in a compartment together on the Hogwarts express, surrounded by the rest of the Marauders and Severus. Neither party seemed please with the situation save James and Cornelia._

_"Hey." He said bluntly. Cory stared at him, anger evident on her face as she groaned and began to bang her head into the back of the seat._

_"When we get home, don't talk to me."_

_"Gladly." Sirius whispered._

_"Was I speaking to you, Sirius?" Cory asked with fake politeness._

_"I hope not."_

_"Well I wasn't, so keep your comments to yourself."_

_"Make me." Sirius contended with a child-like tone._

_"Do you really want me to sew your mouth shut? I can make it as painful as possible." She threatened menacingly as she pulled out her wand._

_"I'd like to see you try." He challenged, matching her thin ebony with his._

_"Can you two give it a rest?" James asked with a bored tone as he inspected his shoes._

_"She started it." Sirius said._

_"I did nothing of the sort. He's being insufferable, as usual." A Slytherin sneer made its way onto her lips._

_"You exist, therefore, you started it." _

_"I don't even need this wand to make you miserable, Black." She said, waving her fist in his face._

_"Really, you two. This is not necessary, at all. So shut your traps, sit back down, and enjoy the rest of the ride. I swear if any of you fight like this over break, I will lock you both in a room with nothing more than the clothes on your back, and not let you out until you resolve your damn problems." James fumed as he stood between two of the most important people in his life._

_"We'd probably kill each other first." Sirius said lightly._

_"Yeah, and besides there's no way you could lock us in a room together, I would obviously be able to escape, and just leave Black there to rot." She said snidely._

_James growled before stalking out of the compartment. _

_It wasn't until he slammed the door shut that he was able to lean against the wall, allowing his back to slide down it as he ran a hand through his hair, his face the picture of anguish. _

_"You okay?" Hazel eyes shot up, wide, as he took in the redhead standing in front of him._

_"Lily?" The redhead raised an eyebrow as she joined him on the floor, looking at him with concerned green orbs._

_"What's the matter?" She prodded once more. James glanced at her and heaved another sigh before pointing at the compartment to his right._

_"Did you finally realize how obnoxious your friends are?" She joked. He allowed a ghost of a smile to appear on his lips before shaking his head._

_"Cory and Sirius are fighting again." Those words alone made Lily understand what was going on. It was no secret that Sirius Black and Cornelia Potter were mortal enemies._

_"What about?" She wasn't quite sure why she asked, because it was well known fact that they fought over anything and everything._

_"I'm not even sure anymore. Something about Cornelia's existence and Sirius' big mouth. I stopped paying attention." His tired tone tearing at Lily's heartstrings._

_She paused for a moment, unsure of what to say._

_"It's just so hard to have the two most important people in your life fight over every little thing. I don't even understand why they don't get along. Cory and I are almost exactly alike, and Sirius and I are best mates! But then he's positive that Cory is into the Dark Arts and all that stuff, but I know she isn't!" James groaned, slamming his head back against the wall once more. Lily bit her lip, trying to come up with the right words._

_"Are you sure? It's just that, I heard some things about Severus getting involved with that stuff, and you know that him and Cory hang out a lot—" She was cut off by James' angry voice._

_"Cory would never do anything remotely dark," He spat. "Do you know she was almost killed this summer during the Diagon Alley Massacre? She was the first person to run out and try to fight the Death Eaters, and she almost died saving mine and Sirius' lives. A fucking building collapsed on her, and she knew it was coming down, but instead of doing the Slytherin thing, and trying to save herself, she became a damn Gryffindor and pushed Sirius and my unconscious ass out of the way. She broke like half her vertebrae, she was in the hospital for weeks, and for a long time the doctors weren't sure she was going to make it. After all she went through to save others, there is no way she could go dark." _

_"I-I-I didn't know." She stuttered._

_"Most don't," He waved her off. "People don't get that there isn't a dark bone in that girl's body. Personally, I believe she's only a Slytherin because she's ambitious enough to prove people wrong. But that girl is one of the most loyal and brave people I know." He said quietly._

_"Wow, James. That was…" Lily bit her lip, once again finding herself at a loss for words._

_The two were silent for a few moments._

_"So are you doing anything exciting for break?" James asked cheerily as he tried to shake off the tense mood he had created._

_"Not really," she frowned. "I think I'll just be spending time with my family, having a decent calm holiday for once. My sister is bringing her boyfriend over, so that'll be interesting."_

_"Well, if you aren't busy on New Year's Eve, my family always attends the Minister's Ball, if you would like to accompany me." He resisted the urge to ruffle his hair, and instead gave her a puppy dog look._

_"Potter-I—"_

_"—no, wait! It doesn't have to be a date or anything. I just normally end up having to go with some stupid ministry brat and I never have any fun. Maybe this year could be a bit more enjoyable if I had a friend there." He grinned._

_"Just as friends?" She said carefully._

_"Promise."_

_"Alright, I suppose we could go together." She shrugged._

_"Brilliant." _

_

* * *

_

The next few months seemed to pass Hogwarts by in a flash, and before the inhabitants knew it,

it was almost time for Christmas. Harry was all set to go back to Grimmauld Place and spend time with his godfather, and Draco was excited to spend his first Christmas with his godmother since he was a little boy.

What none of them counted on was any actual work.

It was just before the break when Cornelia was called to Dumbledore's office at sometime around midnight. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she scurried off to his office, meeting a bleary-eyed Severus on the way.

"Nice pants." He said pointedly referring to the red pants with gold snitches flying around that Cory was shuffling along in.

"Nice face." She returned grumpily. The delivery would have been nice if Cory hadn't paused to yawn half-way through.

"What's going on?" He asked as the two sped up the pace.

"Dunno, a house-elf woke me out of a dead sleep, said it was important."

"Smarties." The gargoyle jumped aside and the two Slytherin professors bounded up the stairs. Without bothering to knock, Cory opened the door to find the Weasleys, Harry, McGonagall and Dumbledore gathered around his desk.

"What's happened?" Severus asked calmly.

"Arthur Weasley has been attacked by a snake." McGonagall said quietly.

"Voldemort." Cory sated plainly. Dumbledore nodded gravely.

"Will he be alright?"

"The healers at St. Mungo's are doing the best that they can. If they had found him any later he might have been lost."

"How is it that they found him?" Cory asked inquisitively, her mind working a mile a minute.

"I had a dream about it." Harry piped up. Cory was finally able to get a good look at her nephew, and she wasn't pleased with the sight. His face was pale and drawn, allowing the large bags under his eyes to stand out more prominently. He looked thin and haggard, and his shining eyes were dulled down with fear. Cory squinted.

"What, like a premonition?"

"This can be discussed later, Cornelia. But right now we need to send these children to headquarters." Dumbledore interrupted. She nodded and as the wizened wizard made the group a portkey, Cory drew Harry into a long hug.

"I won't be at headquarters for the break, so have a good time with Sirius, alright?" She pressed a small kiss to his hair and allowed him to pull away.

"Will I get to see you at all this holiday?" He asked quietly.

"Perhaps. I'll stop in for the meetings, but I'm spending the break here with Severus and Draco. They need me right now." She tried to explain it without dropping too many hints.

"Right. I'll see you when I see you, I guess." He said awkwardly.

"Whatever you're thinking right now, Harry, don't. You saved Arthur's life." He nodded, not quite believing her. "I love you. Stay safe."

"Love you too."

And with that, the students were whisked off to Grimmauld, leaving four speechless professors in their wake.

* * *

How Cory managed to get through the following day was beyond her. Her mind had been working endlessly trying to figure out what was going on with Harry. She had made an attempt to approach Dumbledore, but he had shut her down, saying there would be a discussion at the next Order meeting, which was to take place that evening. She was getting antsy.

The next morning found her, Severus and Draco sitting in her private office over a cup of hot cocoa and smiles on their faces. The students of Hogwarts had returned home for their winter holiday, and the small "family" was finally able to catch up.

"…and that time in 4th year when I threw you in the lake—golden." Cory laughed at Severus' scowling face. She saw Draco laughing out of the corner of her eye and her heart lightened. It was nice to have one charge who wasn't entirely weighted down by the impending war.

"I got you back though." Severus groaned.

"Hardly, all you did was—" she was cut off by a popping noise. Glancing around her office she saw a small houseelf poking her head around.

"Excuse me?"

"Missus Potter, ma'am. Master Dumbledore would like to see you in his office, its urgent, he says." She glanced down oddly at the high pitched creature before rolling her eyes.

"I'll be back. Severus, keep Draco entertained." She commanded. If either of them were upset that she was leaving, they didn't show it. Cory grabbed her cloak and left the room with a flourish.

"I swear to Merlin, that man really knows how to screw up my plans." She grimaced as she charged through the hallways. She ground out the password once she arrived at the gargoyle, and took the steps two at a time to get up to the man's office. She burst through the door and fixed a glare at the desk.

"Albus, really, there's a meeting this evening! Must you disturb my quality time with Draco?" She huffed.

"My deepest apologies, Cornelia, but this is a matter of grave importance." His eyes did not hold their usual twinkle, which caused Cory to deflate a bit. Matters of grave importance were rarely ones that she recovered from.

"What is it?" She said after a few moments.

"We've found a flurry of dark activity out in Albania. We need to investigate it." It was only then that Cory took notice of the other person in the room. She glanced over her shoulder to see Remus Lupin looking haggard as ever, hunched in the corner.

"And you need _me_ to do it, because?" She growled out, shifting her eyes between Lupin and Dumbledore.

"You and I are the only members that are not directly involved with something at the moment." Lupin scoffed.

"Oh yeah because it won't look at all suspicious if I just disappear for a few days, even though everyone knows I'm spending the break with Draco." She snapped.

"Make up an excuse, you were always good at lying your way through things." Lupin bit back,

"Why don't you take your ruddy mutt then, eh? It would do him well to get off his fat arse." She rolled her eyes.

"You know very well why Sirius can't leave." His eyes narrowed.

"All I'm saying—rather him than me." She smirked. Lupin looked torn between wanting to deck her then and there, or just rolling his eyes. He chose the latter and the two enemies turned back to Dumbledore for further instruction.

"Now I'm certain no outbreaks like that will happen during the mission—correct?" The man did not wait for an answer before continuing. "You will be departing in 30 minutes. You will leave from Hogsmeade and apparate to a remote location in an Albanian forest. From there you will begin to notice heightened magical activity. This is recon only, do you understand me? I don't want anyone losing their lives because you decided to ambush Death Eaters."

"Yes sir." The two chorused.

"Then meet back here in 30 minutes. Pack as lightly as possible, dress appropriately." And with no further dismissal, the two glanced at each other and left the office.

* * *

Five minutes later Cory stomped into her office, not at all surprised to find Draco and Severus in the same place she had left them. She immediately went to her trunk and shuffled around for appropriate clothing for the coming night.

"What was that all about?" Draco drawled after a few moments.

"I've been called away on a minor auror raid. It's nothing to concern yourself with, Draco, I'll be back before you even know I'm gone." She paused for a moment to send him a smirk before victoriously pulling out a pair of dark green training pants. She threw them to the side and continued to rifle through her belongings as Draco pushed further.

"What sort of raid? And aren't you a retired auror? Shouldn't you not be called away on raids and stuff?"

Cory was unsure whether to be proud or annoyed at her godson's curiosity.

"I'm not retired, Draco, I'm only 35. I'm just on a temporary leave—because Merlin knows you all can only keep a Defense teacher for a year—and that means that I can still be called out on duty if my presence is necessary." She huffed as she whipped out a black hoodie. She threw it over by her pants and fished out a gray tanktop before looking down at her watch. She had 20 minutes to make her way back to Dumbledore's office.

"So your presence is necessary…you avoided my question, Core." Draco pressed.

Severus sent him an annoyed look, to which the blonde shrugged.

"Top secret Ministry business, squirt. Just be glad you don't have to handle the paperwork afterwards." She winked. The girl leaned back on her heels for a moment, trying to remember if she needed to pack anything with her. With a shrug, she assumed she did not, and with one flick of her wrist, her current clothing was replaced by the clothes she had laid out.

"When will you be back?" He asked after a few moments.

"Before you can say Slytherin Pride." She laughed.

"Slytherin pride." He quipped.

"Say it slower. A lot slower. Like two or three days slower." She smiled. Draco's face dropped immediately.

"But that's so long, Core! You're going to miss all the snowball fights and everything! Are you even going to be back in time for Christmas?" He whined.

"Why don't you whine a little more, blondie?" Cory groaned. Draco began whimpering like a child.

"I'll be back before Christmas, Drake. Auror's honor." She raised her right hand and saluted her charge before rolling her eyes to Severus.

"Besides, you'll get to spend quality time with your Uncle Severus." As soon as the words left her mouth, the two males groaned.

"But I _always_ spend time with Uncle Sev."

"But he's _so_ insufferable, Cornelia."

She glanced between the two amused before shaking her head.

"Both of you, hush up. I have to go." And with that she spun her wand into her holster and pulled Draco up off of her bed.

"I'll see you in a few days, Drake." She grinned at him. He smiled back as she pulled him into a hug. She glanced at Severus for a moment before yanking the older man as well and the makeshift family stood in a hug for a few moments before Cory pulled away.

"Alright, later, boys!" And with that she left the room.

* * *

She met Lupin on her way up to Dumbledore's office, and the two shared a glower of hatred before making their way past the gargoyle.

"You should know, Cornelia that tonight is a full moon." Lupin said apprehensively as they entered the office.

"Bloody fantastic. So not only am I going on this god-forsaken mission, but I'm also going on it with a rabid werewolf. Thank Merlin I have a will prepared." She snapped, not even bothering to give Dumbledore a look as the man handed her a debriefing folder.

"He's taken the Wolfsbane potion, Cornelia. He'll be fine." Dumbledore said amicably as the three Order members sat down around his desk.

"He'll still be useless." She muttered under her breath.

"I _am_ a werewolf, you know. I _do_ have heightened senses." Lupin snapped.

"That wasn't meant for my ears only." She said smugly. The two glared at each other once more.

"I expected such childish behavior from Sirius, Remus, but not from you." Dumbledore said sadly.

"Can we just get on with this?" Cory snapped.

Albus conceded with a nod of his head, and the two former students glanced down at their debriefing packets.

"As I've told you this is only a reconnaissance mission. You are not to attack unless attack first, do I make myself clear?" He did not pause for a response. "As you can see here, I have outlined the route you will be taking. Take a few moments to familiarize yourself with this route."

Cory stared down at the map in front of her. They had a solid four miles of hiking to do once they apparated into the forest before they would reach the epicenter of magical activity. It seemed that the Death Eaters had created an extensive anti-apparation shield. _Bloody fantastic._ She thought as she traced the map idly with her fingers.

"The objectives of this mission are to discover what sorts of troops Voldemort has under his command, and how many he has recruited thus far. Observe the activity around the base and try to see if they are preparing for anything big." The two nodded and handed their folders back to the Headmaster.

In return the old man handed each of them a galleon and a map of the forest without a drawn out route.

"The galleons are emergency portkeys. The activation word is _'713'_ and it will return you to Order headquarters. If at any point you get lost or separated, point your wand at the map and use the point me spell. It will show you where you are in relation to each other as well as the target." Cory nodded and stuffed the map into her back pocket before stuffing the galleon into her shoe.

"Any questions?" Dumbledore met each other their eyes before both of them shook their heads.

"Then you may make your way out to Hogsmeade. I hope to see you back in three days." And with that he showed the two out the door.

* * *

"This is ridiculous." She moaned as the two trudged through the snowy Hogwarts grounds up to the upcoming village.

"Can you complain anymore?" Lupin grimaced.

"Would you like me to?" She said snobbishly.

"Why hasn't anyone killed you yet?"

"I'm just too awesome, obviously."

The two were silent until they made their way into the village. It was relatively empty for a midday weekday, but with the frigid cold and large snowflakes threatening to fall, Cory was not surprised.

"So we know where we're going?" Lupin verified as they snuck into an alley.

Cory restrained herself from dropping a witty comment and just nodded, pulling out her wand and preparing to apparate.

"Then I'll see you shortly." And with that he spun in his spot and out of site.

"Bloody hell…" She groaned before spinning to meet him.

* * *

A/N: OH MY MERLIN WHAT IS THIS?! Yes, it is true. I have in fact, updated _Crimson and Clover_. I know, I know it's been far too long. I can't say that I'll begin to become consistent with my updates, butttt we're getting into some interesting parts here, so I'm stoked to continue writing. Also, lucky for you guys, the East Coast has been blasted by like three blizzards in the past two weeks, meaning I got a whole week off school—aka plenty of time for writing. It's not as if I have 11+ hours of AP biology homework or a 5 page government paper to write or a whole novel to annotate or anything. Clearly, I love all of you more than my GPA. Or maybe it's because I'm a second semester senior and I don't care anymore. I know, second semester senior. Wow. Can you believe I started this story back in summer '08?? Wow. Anyway, that's enough of an AN for today. This chapter clocked in at 5000 words. What did you guys think? Please lemme know!

-Shawn


	14. Christmas is a Time for Family

**Story Title: Crimson and Clover**

**Chapter Title: Christmas is a Time for Family and "Friends"**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, Hogwarts, or anything from the books. I own Cory and any concepts, ideas, people or places that you may not have heard of, unless I say otherwise. The title comes from the song "Crimson and Clover" by Tommy James and the Shondells, though I originally got it from the song "A Praise Chorus" by Jimmy Eat World.**

**Warning: Mild Language, and some corny scenes.**

**Story Summary: **_**Cornelia "Cory" Potter was never the perfect child, no, that was left up to her brother James. Her twin brother, James Potter, who was younger than her by a mere 7 minutes, but was still younger nevertheless, was always better than she was. Always the one who was slightly better at flying, the one with the wicked sense of humor, the one with the good looks, the one who could get away with everything, the **_**Gryffindor. **_**When the hat shouted out that Cory was destined to forever adorn the Slytherin crest on her robes, her life went down the tubes. Her parents still loved her, sure, but James never forgave her. After his death, she moved to America, but now that Voldemort is back, she's been called back to fight. And fight she will. A Slytherin never backs down from battle, no matter which side they're on, and Cory is ready to take on her old friends, while fighting alongside her old enemies.**_

* * *

_After what seemed like days to Cory, the Hogwarts Express finally arrived at Kings Cross. She and Severus quickly gathered their belongings and sped out, eager to get away from the Marauders. To no one's surprise, she and Sirius had been at each other's throats the entire trip, and the Slytherin was unsure as to how she would survive the next few weeks under the same roof as him._

_Unfortunately for Cory and Severus, the group had sat towards the back of the train, and as such, were forced to wait in line for their turn to exit, allowing their Gryffindor companions to catch up to them._

_"Do you know if we're meeting anyone, or are we just going straight home?" James whispered into her ear over the roar of the crowd. She shrugged her shoulders._

_"Merlin if I know—Dad just said he'd see us later." She mumbled._

_They were silent until they finally made it off. Once hopping off the train, the twins grabbed their friends and steered them away to a nearby pillar. They looked around anxiously, wondering if they would see one of their parents, or even a familiar house elf. Just when it seemed like they would apparate home alone, Cory heard a distinct crack behind her. She whipped around to see a tall man about 10 feet from the marauders. A grin formed on the man's face that was identical to her own as she stared in awe at the man in front of her._

_"Daddy!" She shrieked before sprinting over to him. James let out a chuckle behind her, but she paid him no mind as she ran full speed at her father. She all but tackled the man, wrapping her arms around his middle as she buried her face into his robes. Her father could always make everything better._

_"Hello, muffin." He said kindly as he kissed her hair and returned the hug with equal force. She began to mumble incoherently into his shirt._

_"Was Sirius treating you badly on the train?" He asked patronizingly. She huffed into his shirt, but Harold Potter could feel her nod against his chest. The chuckle that followed this statement reverberated through his chest, making Cory look up to him with a mock glare on her face._

_"When are you two going to get along?" He said amusedly. She rolled her eyes before mumbling something that sounded like 'never.'_

_A few feet back from the father and daughter stood the Marauders and Severus, each watching the scene with different reactions. James and Sirius were not at all surprised by Cory's reaction to seeing her father, as it had long been known to both of them that Cory could rarely go long periods of time without seeing her role model. Severus was surprised to say the least; his strong and defiant friend seemed to practically worship the man and turn into a child around him. _

_"Who would have guessed that your sister is such a daddy's girl." Peter laughed slightly. James looked sad for a moment before shrugging._

_"Ever since we were kids she's been extremely attached to dad. It got a little better when we left for Hogwarts, but once you-know-who started gaining power they got a lot closer again. Cory's scared to death that something's going to happen to him; and after the attack this summer, Dad's not about to let anything happen to his 'precious princess.'" He laughed as much as the topic of discussion would allow._

_"It just seems strange—I never thought your sister got along with your family." Remus said thoughtfully. Severus stood off awkwardly to the side, but he was carefully listening to the conversation._

_"The only person she doesn't get on with is my mum. I think it's because Cory was never very feminine growing up. We spent all our time together, so she did a lot of boyish things. By the time she actually started caring about being a girl—which was basically last year—it was a little too late. They've rubbed each other wrong all their lives. They're getting better, but they aren't great." James shrugged with an eye roll. His two favorite women fighting was never a fun thing._

_"Well are we going to go? I don't know about you but it's a little drafty in here, and I'd much rather like to be in your warm house with a game of exploding snap in front of me." Sirius grinned. There was a chorus of agreements, and slowly the group made their way over to the still conversing father and daughter._

_"I have so much to tell you, dad!" She prattled on as the group joined them._

_"And I look forward to hearing it all over a cup of hot cocoa. James! How are you, son?" The two shared a manly hug before Harold pulled Sirius into one as well._

_"Now I know Black over here, but who are the rest of your friends, James?" _

_Cory snickered at Severus' barely concealed look of contempt.  
_

_"Dad, this is Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew." James pointed to each of his friends in turn as they shook hands with the Potter patriarch._

_"Pleasure to meet you boys." He said charmingly._

_"And, daddy, this is Severus." She dragged the boy closer to the group as he held his hand out._

_"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Potter." He said quietly._

_"Ahh…so you're Severus, hm?" He asked stiffly. "I'm sure James has already given you a talking to, but you mess with my daughter, and I will not hesitate to—"_

_"DAD!" She shrieked, horrified. "That's Regulus! Not Sev!" _

_"Oh, terribly sorry, son. It's great to meet you." He at least had the decency to blush as he shook Severus' hands. James began laughing off to the side, but was silenced by identical glares from Cory and Harold._

_"So let's head off, shall we? James why don't you side-along with Remus, Sirius you can take Peter, and Cory you can take Severus?" There was a murmur of agreements as the teens pulled out their wands and grabbed onto their partners._

_"He likes you." She whispered to Severus as she looped arms with him._

_"Does he?" He asked uncertainly._

_"He called you 'son.' He only calls Sirius and James that. Trust me, he likes you. Don't fuck it up." She warned him before twirling on the spot._

_A grin formed on Severus' face, but then they were gone._

* * *

_"So tell me all about your year so far, pumpkin." Harold asked Cory from across his desk as the two sat down in his study. There were cups of steaming cocoa in front of them as they sat for one of their many talks that took place over breaks. The boys were upstairs unpacking, and she made James promise to leave Severus alone until she could join them._

_"It's been…interesting, I guess." She said uncertainly._

_"What's wrong?" He raised an eyebrow._

_"Well…it's mostly got to do with you-know-who." She sighed._

_"Cory, are you in some sort of trouble?" Alarm was evident in his voice._

_"Not exactly…? I'll explain it to you in a few minutes, but that doesn't come until the end. So Regulus and I still haven't reconciled—even though you said the whole thing would blow over." She said sadly. _

_"Well he's clearly a stupid boy if he cannot see what he's missing. You shouldn't date stupid boys."_

_"Well yeah, but I miss him. We've been best friends since my second year…I feel bad that we split up on such bad terms." She said sadly._

_"Things will work themselves out, pumpkin…I promise." He said. "What else is new?"_

_"Well as of now James, Lily Evans, Sirius and I are tied for first in the 7__th__ year dueling competition! I've yet to face any of them in a duel, but all of us are undefeated, so it'll be interesting to see who falls first. Next I duel Remus, and James is up against Severus. I'm curious to see who's going to win that competition, because they're both pretty fierce—and they hate each other…" She trailed off._

_"I can't believe those two are going to be living under the same roof for the next two weeks." Harold murmured wearily.  
_

_"I can't believe that you expect me and Black to live under the same roof for two weeks." She groaned._

_"When are you going to realize that Sirius isn't all that bad?" He scoffed._

_"He's just so bloody obnoxious all the time. It wouldn't be so horrible if he didn't start it all the time, but he does so I can't just ignore him. I have to defend my honor." She said snootily._

_"Ever heard of turning the other cheek?" He raised an eyebrow._

_"Ever heard of Slytherin pride?" She mocked._

_"Touché." _

_"So what's new with you, daddy?" She grinned taking another large gulp of her drink._

_"Oh no you don't. You said you were in some sort of trouble, I want to know what." He said sternly._

_Cory cursed under her breath. She was well aware that the next conversation could lead to some heavy repercussions that she wasn't sure she was ready to face._

_"Alright. But dad, you have to promise to hear me out first. I know what you're like, and I know you like to jump to conclusions a lot, but I am begging you to hear. Me. Out." She punctuated the last three words for added emphasis as his eyes bored into hers._

_"Me? Jump to conclusions? Never." He winked._

_"Dad, I'm serious. This is kind of important and I need to know that you'll listen to me entirely before you freak out." She said sternly. Sometimes she felt like she was the adult and he was the child._

_"You have my full attention, pumpkin." She blushed at the nick name as her hand flew to her hair, ruffling it slightly._

_"Okay…So you know how you-know-who—"_

_"—Voldemort—"_

_"So you know how Voldemort has been recruiting people left and right?" At his nod, she took another deep breath._

_"Well, then he's bound to be recruiting Hogwarts students too, especially the of-age ones. And of course, the type of people he's looking for are the Slytherin types, you know. The cunning, sly and general pure-blood fanatics." She trailed off, trying to find the proper words._

_"Let me see your arm." He said solemnly. His hazel eyes were steely as they locked in on her covered forearm. Cory felt her jaw slacken._

_"You can't be serious?" She asked outraged._

_"Cornelia Elizabeth, just show me your arm." He snapped. Cory huffed angrily. He only ever used her full name in serious situations. She couldn't believe her father would think she would take the mark. Did he not know her at all?_

_With more force than necessary she forced both sleeves of her jumper up past her elbows and flung her arms out in front of her for his view. He grabbed her arms softly, scrutinizing the pale, creamy skin of her forearms, both clearly unmarked._

_"I can't believe you thought I would take the mark." She said, her voice betraying the emotion she wouldn't show on her face._

_"Cory, these are dark times, you have to understand. You're young, young people make mistakes." He said quietly, but not apologetically._

_"Not even a sorry?" She scoffed._

_"Do you really want me to apologize for taking precautions?" _

_"Do you intend to check everyone in this house then? Or is it just me because I'm the Slytherin?" She spat the word as if it would poison her._

_"Are you going to check James' arm too? Because he couldn't possibly be a death eater, since he's in Gryffindor." She rolled her eyes, preparing to leave._

_"You never told me what was wrong." He said quietly._

_"Well I was originally going to ask you for help. You know, because I was approached by a death eater, but as you can see, I turned him down rather forcefully, and Voldemort isn't going to take that lightly. So you know, I just wanted to make sure I wouldn't die and all that, but that's self-preservation, which must be too much of a Slytherin trait for you to handle. Bloody hell, Dad, I'll talk to you after I've had a chance to cool down." And with one last icy glare she stormed out of the study, slamming the door on her way out._

* * *

_The marauders lazed around James' room, talking lightly amongst themselves as Peter and Remus shared a game of exploding snap, while James and Sirius were sitting on his bed, planning their return to Hogwarts prank. _

_"—I don't know that we should involve the Slytherins, I mean, my sister is one." James murmured._

_"A good prankster never differentiates his victims." Sirius said thoughtfully. _

_"And yet we always go after the Slytherins." James frowned. Sirius paused for a moment, but before he could continue, James furrowed his eyebrows and held his hand up to silence his friend._

_"What's wrong?" Sirius asked cautiously._

_"I'm not sure. I think it's Cory—" he was cut off by loud footsteps storming past his room, ending with a loud 'BANG!'_

_"…Shite, she's pissed." James groaned before dragging himself off the bed._

_"Where are you going?" Sirius gaped._

_"Obviously to make sure Cory doesn't break anything." He rolled his eyes before slouching out of his room._

_James glanced both ways cautiously as he stepped outside his doorway. Finally being sure the coast was clear, he tiptoed over to the shut door down the hall. Mentally preparing himself, he knocked lightly on the door, wincing as he did so._

_"Go away." Came a muffled voice from the inside. James raised an eyebrow before palming his face and opening the door anyway._

_"Cory?" He asked softly, opening the door a bit. He stuck his head in to find his sister angrily stuffing her clothes into drawers. Clearly she must have been mad if she had forgotten she could use magic._

_"You know you're a witch right?" He asked lightly._

_"What?" She snapped harshly, not even looking his way._

_"You can use magic to unpack your stuff." He laughed, stepping in fully as he shut the door behind him. _

_"Yeah right. Dad would probably accuse me of doing dark magic if he caught wind of it." She growled darkly as she slammed her trunk shut with far too much force. James winced._

_"What do you mean; dad would accuse you of dark magic? Are you mad?" He asked skeptically as the twins sat down across from each other on her bed. Identical hazel eyes met each other as Cory's filled up with tears._

_"Dad-h-h-he…" She trailed off, looking fit to burst, but whether from anger or sadness, James could not tell._

_"What did Dad do?" He asked cautiously._

_"He thought-he thought that I was a death eater!" She wailed before breaking down into sobs. James stared at her slack-jawed before he regained composure and slipped his arms around her body._

_"I'm sure it was all just a big misunderstanding." He said soothingly as her body shook._

_"No, he bloody made me roll up my sleeves, and then had the audacity to say that young people make mistakes! He didn't even fucking apologize! As if I would become a death eater after how you almost died this summer." Any other person would not have understood Cory's tearful tone, but James, who was well-versed in 'tearful-Cory-speech,' gaped at her in disbelief._

_"Okay, one, you were the one who almost died, and two, who the bloody hell does he think he is, accusing you of making mistakes. You're Miss Bloody Perfect." Cory scoffed at the irony of the statement._

_"Yeah, me, the Slytherin one is Miss Perfect." She said bitterly, sniffling as she wiped her face with the corner of her sleeve._

_"How did you guys get on the topic anyway?" James asked after a few minutes of silence._

_"I…I needed to ask Dad for help." She whispered._

_"Help with what…?" James looked at her cautiously._

_"I—" she sighed. "I was approached by a death eater not too long ago, asking for my allegiance to Voldemort. I obviously refused—" she showed him her clean arms. "—but Voldemort doesn't take lightly to those who refuse his service. I just—I wanted to make sure I would have a way out, James. So many people join Voldemort because they're afraid of saying no. I need to know that saying no isn't going to get me killed." _

_"I'd never let anything happen to you just because you refused that bastard's service." James promised._

_"Pity Dad doesn't feel the same way." She cracked a sarcastic grin._

_"We'll show him." He whispered, pulling her into another hug._

_"But how? Dad taught us everything we know." _

_"Dad's forgetting that he's now in a house full of marauders and the Slytherin duo. He doesn't stand a chance."_

* * *

"This is so bloody stupid." Cory spat flinging yet another tree branch aside as she and Remus made their way through the dense Albanian forest. Remus, who was behind her, huffed angrily as the branch once again struck him in the face before he could dodge it. The two had been walking through the forest for upwards of four hours, and due to Cory's "directional skills" (or lack thereof according to Remus) the two had to take a small (large) detour before Remus finally got them back on track.

"How you were ever an elite auror, I'll never know." Remus growled.

"No, you'll never know because you were never bloody good enough to make it into the program." She spat, smacking a mosquito that had landed on her neck.

"Because that's the reason I didn't get in." He said sarcastically with an eyeroll.

Cory paused, looking slightly apologetic before sending her eyes skyward.

"Hey, it looks to be around 3:30—" she cast a _tempus_ charm to confirm her words "—you should take the last round of the potion before we keep going."

"You're right, hopefully we can get there within the next hour or so—assuming we don't have anymore delays," Cory glared at him half-heartedly, "and we can get our recon done and make it back to the edge of the forest by nightfall. If anything I'd like to get _you_ to the apparation point because I'll be able to hold my own in a forest for the evening."

"I'd be able to hold my own!" She whined in protest.

"I'm sure you would be—but I'm not interested in taking chances." He said wearily as the two sat down on a log. Remus began to rifle through his bag as Cory lazily sent stunning charms at the various insects around her. Remus sent her a bewildered look.

"I may be an elite auror, but I'm still a girl, and therefore I'm allowed to be disgusted by bugs." She laughed. Remus shook his head before continuing to rummage through his pack.

About five minutes later Remus' head resurfaced with a look of horror.

"What's wrong?" She groaned.

"I can't find my potion." He responded as the blood slowly drained from his face.

"Hold on—wait, what? You can't find your potion? But it was there when you left, _wasn't it?_" She ground out as she palmed her face.

"I swear it was! I checked several times!" He promised as he began to frantically search his bag.

"Well it can't have just disappeared." She tried to reason.

"It must have fallen out along the way." Remus looked mortified.

"Do you not have any sealing charms on that thing?" She asked incredulously.

"…no." He looked down in shame.

"So now what do we do?" Cory asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Well you obviously need to get out of here." He said bluntly, his face still pale as she had ever seen.

"And leave you to fend for yourself when we're in what could be the most dangerous forest on this side of the pond? Not bloody likely." She said firmly.

"And what are we going to do when the moon rises, hmm? Are you going to just outrun me?" He asked skeptically, matching her tone.

"We'll deal with that when it comes. I've never failed a mission and I'm not starting now."

"Swallow your bloody pride and get out of here." He rolled his eyes.

"We're four bloody hours into this dammed forest, Lupin, in case you've forgotten! The moon rises in less than two hours—we don't stand a chance."

"Then you need to get as far from me as possible in that time." He stood up to match her height.

"I'm not leaving you behind." She crossed her arms.

"Just go, I told you I can fend for myself." He snapped.

"And I told you, so can I. So unless you want to stay here and argue some more, we've got recon to do." She growled, turning away. She swung his sack over her shoulder and began to storm away.

"You're bloody suicidal." He growled as he jogged to catch up with her.

"I told you, Lupin, I don't leave a man behind. Besides, you're a smart one, think about it. There's no way that potion would have fallen out of your sack. Somebody stole it—how, I don't know—but someone knows we're here. It's better that we stick together while we can." She said with a tone of finality.

"This is a bloody suicide mission." Remus palmed his face.

"Dumbledore wouldn't have sent us if he didn't think we can handle it. We're two extraordinarily smart and resourceful people, we'll be fine." Her voice was filled with confidence but inside Cory was panicking.

The two avoided speaking to each other for the next hour-and-a-half; lost in thoughts of how they would escape this mess they had found themselves in.

"Do you feel that?" Cory asked quietly as she felt a large pulsation of dark magic run through her body.

"How could you not?" Remus fished into his bag to pull out a sneakoscope which was already spinning madly.

"Let's try and get closer, shall we?" Cory asked darkly, already cautiously stepping forward through the brush. She expertly ducked behind a large tree, signaling to Remus to come join her.

"The sun is beginning to set." Remus warned her, a sheet of sweat forming on his face.

"Again, we'll deal with that in a moment. Do you see anything?" She whispered distractedly, trying to catch a glimpse of any dark activity.

"It looks like they've set up camp in that field." It was true, there were large sheds everywhere and people and creatures roamed the grounds freely. The place reeked of dark magic.

"Cory, the clock is ticking, you need to get out of here, it isn't safe." Remus pleaded.

"Remus, hush. I'll be fine." It wasn't until that moment that Cory cast her eyes into the sky, which was becoming increasingly darker as the minutes ticked past.

"Shit." She whispered as if just realizing the danger she was in.

"You've gotta go now." Remus said urgently glancing down at his watch. He angrily tapped his fingers against its face.

"The dark magic's disrupted it!" He cursed pacing in agitation.

"Remus, it'll be fine. This is my entire fault, alright, we should've turned back the moment you realized the potion was gone. I'm so sorry." She whispered quietly.

But the apology no longer mattered because in that moment the moonlight illuminated the trees and hit Remus head on.

"Bloody hell." The two cursed at once as Remus began to transform. He bit his lip to hold back the scream which he knew would attract the outlying Death Eaters. Cory began to stumble backwards in morbid fascination as the transformation ripped through his body.

"Cory, run." Was all he could grind out before his head was thrown back. Hazel eyes met amber once more, but instead of warm Remus Lupin, she was faced with a feral Moony.

"SHIT!" She screamed, turning on her heel and sprinting the other way.

"Remus, it's me! FUCK!" She shrieked as she latched on to a tree branch, trying desperately to pull herself up and gain height over the ferocious wolf.

The thing snarled behind her, reaching up with its paws to capture her ankle in its clawed grip. A scream tore through her throat as she felt its sharp claws dig into her foot. She hugged the branch with all her might as Moony paced below her, much like Remus had done moments before.

"Well isn't this a picture perfect scene?" A lethargic voice said below her. She glanced down to see several Death Eaters blending into the brush, unnoticed by Moony, with their wands brandished.

"You leave him alone!" Cory shouted, swinging herself around to face them. Worst case scenario, she decided, she would jump down and defend Moony from these dark freaks.

"Oh it's not him we want." And with that, sparks shot from the leader's wand that immediately assembled a steel cage around Moony. He snarled in anger and threw himself to the walls of the cage, desperately attempting to escape.

"And you can come down now, Potter." With another flick, Cory was thrown from her perch on the tree towards the ground. She grimaced as she made contact with the earth before rolling over and training her wand on the enemies.

"You'll never take me alive." She warned, immediately stunning two Death Eaters in one go. _Two down, four to go_ she told herself, mentally calculating the odds that her and her partner would survive the night.

"Lucky for us, our master doesn't care how we deliver you." The silky voice of the leader answered her. She gaped at him in surprise.

"Crucio!"

"Expelliarmus!"

Immediately the fire fight began. She was unsure of how to approach the numbers, and clearly those she was fighting were some of the more advanced Death Eaters.

She shrieked as she took a Cruciatus curse to the back, forcing her to her knees. Another silent spell came her way that she attempted to avoid, but was struck full on in the chest. She choked on her breath as blood began to stain her shirt as three perfect lines marred her body.

"Densuago!" She cried fiercely. A Death Eater dodged her deftly.

A silent stinging curse was sent her way but she barreled away just in time. Unfortunately she rolled right onto the feet of a Death Eater. Before she was aware of any action taking place, a swift kick was delivered to the side of her head, sending her reeling. She became minutely aware of the immense pain she was feeling all over her body as black dots circled her vision.

"I'll be taking this." The silky voice plucked the wand from her hand. She attempted to protest, but the Death Eater next to her just pulled her up by her arms and held them firmly against her back.

"Take her back to headquarters." The remaining three Death Eaters nodded to their leader and began to drag Cory away. The girl gathered her wits and began to shout loudly at Moony, hoping he would retain his memory for the morning.

"Oh, that reminds me." The silken voice said before walking up to her. Cory dragged her eyes up to meet his through the mask, and couldn't describe the sharp pain that shot through her chest as she recognized the icy-blue orbs.

"Luce?" She whispered brokenly. If Lucius had heard her, he made no acknowledgment and instead grabbed the front collar of her shirt. Cory winced and drew herself back, afraid she would be struck, but was instead surprised by the ripping sound that came with a sharp jerk forward. Her shirt lay in two pieces in front of her as Lucius tore at it a second time. He scattered the bits around the small clearing they were in and directed his attention to one of the Death Eaters.

"Stay here until morning. When the wolf wakes, banish the cage and make sure he sees some of the clothes. He'll never forgive himself, and the precious Order won't either." Lucius laughed maniacally as the others began to drag Cory forward once more.

"I thought you were my friend." She growled to him.

"All's fair in love and war, my dear." He said quietly. Without another word he sent a jet of red light towards her. Cory didn't have time to blink before she was overcome by darkness.

* * *

Remus came to immediately as the sunlight hit his face through the trees. His eyes opened wearily as he attempted to gather his bearings. He looked around to find himself in a small clearing before he gasped in surprise as the memories of the preceding day hit him. Recon mission. Getting lost. No potion. Walkin—no potion?

"Cory?" He whispered quietly, trying to get regain his voice.

He remembered Cory walking with him and then the moonlight hitting his face. Had Cory gotten away?

He dragged himself painfully to his feet, trying to find the answer.

"Core?" He called out louder this time, trained eyes scanning the clearing.

He was about to call her name once more, when his eyes fell upon a torn piece of cloth.

"Shit." He whispered before sprinting over towards it. He held in his hand a shred of Cory's shirt, smeared with dried blood.

"Cory." He whispered brokenly a third time. He looked around frantically and had to stop the bile from rising into his throat as he saw a dark red stain on the grass ahead. He closed his eyes.

"What have I done?" A sob racked his body as he brought himself to his feet once more.

"What have I done?" He repeated again. This remained his mantra as he trudged back to the apparation point.

Once Remus felt the ward pass over him, he turned on his heel and apparated away. He had news to break to a former colleague.

* * *

Cory groaned as light passed through her eyelids. She ached everywhere. She shivered. Where ever she was, it was freezing, and her warming charm had worn off long before. She rolled over, attempting to find a more comfortable position on the stone floor but found herself far too tired to move. Instead she lay back and watched a distant flame cast a flickering shadow through the bars of her cell.

* * *

Remus Lupin grimaced as he opened the door to Grimmauld Place as quietly as he could. He limped towards the kitchen, his face ashen, as he thought up a way to break the news to the remainder of the Order. Before he could think of anything reasonable to say, his best friend was upon him.

"Just in time for the meeting, Moony. It's about time you two got back—" Remus gave a strangled yelp. "—things have been absolutely spare around here. Say, Moony are you alright? You look a bit peaky."

Remus opened and closed his mouth, as if he couldn't find the words.

"Where's Corny?" He snorted, turning back towards the kitchen. Remus grasped his arm, turning him back around before gazing into his gray eyes.

"Moony?" Sirius asked warily.

"She's gone, Sirius." Remus whispered before sobs overtook his body. He collapsed in the entryway and shook madly as Sirius stared blankly.

"Gone? Remus, like _gone_, gone?" Sirius asked in disbelief as he lowered himself to the level of his comrade.

"It's all my fault." Remus whispered, leaning his back against the door frame as his head lolled pathetically to the side.

"What exactly happened, Moony?" Sirius pressed.

"What have I done?" Remus began to repeat his old mantra once more. Sirius, at a loss of what to do, called to the drawing room where the meeting was being held.

"Dumbledore! Guys! I need a bit of help in here!" He called frantically, still sitting next to his friend, attempting to console him.

The pitter patter of footsteps broke Sirius' train of thought as members of the Order poured into the kitchen.

"What's happened?" Molly Weasley asked as she reached the pair first. Sirius pointed helplessly at his friend before Molly lowered to her knees and began brushing Remus' bangs aside.

"What's happened, Remus?" She asked kindly, brushing away the tears. Her heart shattered as broken amber eyes met her warm browns.

"It's Cory." He whispered before letting his head fall to his knees.

"What's happened to her?" Severus' voice called from the back of the crowd. He broke through instantaneously, eyes wild as he searched the room for his best friend.

"Something went wrong last night." Remus continued.

"What happened?" Molly's voice was kind and soothing, contrasted with Severus' sharp, desperate cry.

"My potion, it was stolen right from under our noses." He said bitterly. He refused to meet Severus' eyes.

In that instant all blood drained from Severus' sallow face, making him look as close to death as his best friend.

"What. Happened?" He asked menacingly, attempting to stop his mind from reaching terrible conclusions.

"She refused to leave my side. I tried to get away. I tried to get her to leave, I swear!" In this last moment he sent a desperate look to Dumbledore, as if trying to convince him personally that it was not his fault.

"We're sure you did, Remus. But what happened?" The headmaster asked firmly.

"All I remember was the moonlight hitting me, and Cory trying to get away. I woke up this morning in a clearing. Her shirt w-was scattered all ac-across the forest and there was s-s-so much blood." He sobbed once more.

Immediately following Remus' explanation, a strangled cry emitted from Snape's throat as he allowed himself to collapse into a chair. He held his head in his hands, trying to escape the thought that he had let another one of his friends die as a result of Death Eaters.

Silence followed this scene.

The Order stood in silent remembrance of their fallen comrade. This silence was broken nearly five minutes later when the sound of pattering feet stormed down the stairs.

"Mum?"

"Sirius?" Five voices asked at once as Fred, George, Ron, Harry and Ginny lined up at the kitchen entrance. Emerald eyes scanned the room before falling on Remus' huddled form and tear-stained face. His breath caught in his throat.

"What's happened?"

* * *

"You bloody cowards!" Cory screamed through the bars of her cell. There seemed to be no one standing guard on her, but the room she was in was shrouded in darkness, so she wouldn't have been able to tell either way. To Cory, it seemed like she had been trapped there for days, although she had no real idea of how much time had actually passed.

"If you're bloody Dark Lord wanted me _so _badly, where the hell is he?" She raved, her voice beginning to break.

"Come and get me you son of a—"

* * *

**A/N: Shwattttttt? An update? I know, it's been like 3 months, and I apologize for the wait! I don't really have an excuse other than AP exams and finals coming up and all those shenanigans. I'm updating this instead of working on the Calc project, Bio paper and Lit paper I have all due on Wednesday…lucky you :P Hope you guys liked the chapter, because I'm a big fan. As always thank you to those who reviewed, and I hope you leave me a review to lemme know what you think! I made a promise to myself when I started this story that I would finish it before I left for college. College starts in 3 months for me (*gasp* I know right? So close!), so hopefully updates will be coming a lot more quickly? We shall see…**

**Thanks!**

**-Shawn**


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